Buono for Governor
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono called out Governor Christie yesterday for spending an extra $2 million in recovery funds to secure a starring role for himself in the Hurricane Sandy ad campaign. It's evident that, once again, Governor Christie's top priority is his national ambitions, not the needs of New Jerseyans. See for yourself below...Christie Storm Ads ‘Unseemly,’ Challenger Buono Says
By Terrence Dopp//Bloomberg
Democrat Barbara Buono, who’s trailing Gov. Chris Christie in her bid to oust the popular Republican as governor of New Jersey, wants him to pay $2 million for his appearance in the trademark “Stronger Than the Storm” ad campaign. Christie selected politically connected PR firm MWW of East Rutherford to run the campaign, aimed at highlighting the Jersey Shore’s post-Hurricane Sandy re-emergence, at a cost of $5 million, the Asbury Park Press of Neptune reported Aug. 4. That bid was more than $2 million higher than the runner-up planned to charge, the paper said. The centerpiece of the $25 million, federally funded advertising blitz is a series of commercials featuring Christie and his family highlighting the state’s coastline as open for business and ready for beach-goers. Buono said Christie should take the money from his campaign account and re-direct it to Sandy relief efforts. “His blatant self-promotion on the road to the White House is always embarrassing, but when it comes at the cost of Sandy victims, it goes too far,” Buono, a sitting state senator and lawyer from Metuchen, told reporters today in a reference to Christie’s suspected presidential aspirations. “It’s wrong. It’s unjust. It’s unseemly.”
Christie's ego trumps financial sense, Buono alleges
By Jarrett Renshaw//The Star-Ledger
Gov. Chris Christie's national ambition knows no limits, his Democratic challenger, Barbara Buono, charged today. When selecting a marketing firm to help entice tourists to return to the Sandy-ravaged Jersey Shore, Christie did not choose the lowest bidder, Buono said at a news conference today. Instead, Buono charged that he gave the winning firm an extra $2 million because it promised to feature his image and voice in television and radio commercials as part of multi-million ad buy. "It is nothing short of outrageous that this governor would put his ego and national ambitions above helping people," Buono said. "He gave $2 million to secure a starring role in the equivalent of a campaign commercial."
Buono calls on Christie to repay funds spent on 'Stronger than the Storm' ads
By Melissa Hayes//The Record
Accusing Governor Christie of “paving the road to the White House,” Barbara Buono called on her Republican opponent to repay the state $2 million for a tourism marketing campaign that prominently features him. The Middlesex County Democratic state senator chastised Christie after touring a Neptune home devastated by superstorm Sandy Wednesday. The state used $25 million in federal funds to hire East Rutherford-based MWW public relations firm to carry out the marketing campaign. The firm, which has ties to both Republicans and Democrats, was not the low bidder, according to a recent report in the Asbury Park Press. The Asbury Park Press found that MWW and its subsidiary are getting $4.7 million for employee compensation and other costs, while The Sigma Group, based in Oradell, bid only $2.5 million. A main difference in the bid packages is that MWW’s “Stronger than the Storm Campaign” prominently features Christie, while The Sigma Group did not propose using the governor in television and radio ads. Buono called the ads “shameless self-promotion,” and said Christie should repay the difference in the two bid prices. “This is a governor who is putting his ego and his national ambition ahead of the victims,” she said standing in front of the home of John Lambert and Lee Ann Newland.
Buono: Christie should pay back money for MWW ad campaign
By Bob Jordan//Asbury Park Press
Saying Gov. Chris Christie is more interested in his national profile than in running New Jersey, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono ripped into the Republican governor today for his administration’s awarding of a marketing contract to a company that used him in its television ads. "The shameless self-promotion is embarrassing. He's paving his road to the White House,” the Middlesex County state senator said during a noon press conference outside a home in Neptune Township. An Asbury Park Press investigation found that MWW, the powerhouse public relations firm with deep political connections in both the Republican and Democratic parties in the state, was awarded a $25 million contract, paid for with federal funds, to help the state advertise its recovery to potential tourists. The ad campaign, Stronger Than The Storm, features Christie and his family in the television and radio ads. Buono said Christie should pay the $2 million difference between the compensation included in the MWW contract and the compensation requested by the losing bidder, the Sigma Group.
Buono: Christie using Sandy ads to boost campaign
By Matt Katz//Philadelphia Inquirer
In a slashing attack accusing Gov. Christie of using the post-Sandy "Stronger Than the Storm" commercials to strengthen his own reelection campaign, his Democratic challenger, Barbara Buono, demanded Wednesday that he repay some of the millions of dollars being spent on the ads. Buono, a state senator from Middlesex County, launched her most direct assault yet on one of the Republican governor's key campaign assets - his shepherding of the state after Sandy - as she stood before a house gutted by the storm and owned by two teachers who say they have yet to receive rebuilding funds from the state. She seized on a weekend report in the Asbury Park Press indicating that Christie picked a high bidder for a federally funded, post-Sandy tourism advertising campaign. Another advertising agency would have cost $2 million less - but that agency didn't plan to make Christie the star of its TV commercials, according to the report. Buono wants Christie to take $2 million of his campaign money and direct it to victims of the storm.
Are the 'Stronger Than The Storm' ads political?
By Matt Katz//Philadelphia Inquirer
New Jersey may be stronger than the storm, as the jingle in the advertisement goes, but Gov. Christie isn't better than the victims of the storm. That's the message Christie's Democratic challenger, Sen. Barbara Buono (D., Middlesex), sought to send Wednesday at a news conference staged in front of a home gutted by Sandy and owned by two school teachers who said they've been denied rebuilding funds from the state. In her most direct attack yet on the Republican governor's chief political strength -- his shepherding of the state after Sandy -- Buono seized on a report last weekend from the Asbury Park Press indicating that Christie picked a high bidder for a federally-funded, post-Sandy tourism advertising campaign. Another advertising agency would have cost $2 million less -- except that agency didn't plan to include Christie in its commercials.
Buono to Christie: reimburse $2 million to the taxpayers
By Max Pizarro//Politicker NJ
Alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono, Lee Ann Newland and John Lambert stood in front of the ravaged wreck of their ranch home here and denounced Gov. Chris Christie’s appearance in a ad ostensibly designed to boost beach tourism in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. “Wathcing the Jersey Strong ads and seeing the governor in them – I’m very disappointed,” Lamber t said. “It doesn’t seem right,” added Newland of the ads, which feature Christie boostering for the shore and cost the state taxpayers $5 million, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.
Buono Rips Into Christie Over 'Stronger Than The Storm' Ads
By Keith Brown//Patch
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono on Wednesday ripped into Gov. Chris Christie, saying the governor was more concerned about national exposure than helping residents still reeling from superstorm Sandy. At a noon press conference in Neptune Township, Buono met with a Shark River Hills couple whose home was gutted by the October storm and nine months later remains uninhabitable, partly due to lack of state aid money. Buono called on Christie to return $2 million paid to a politically connected public relations firm that produced, with federal money, the "Stronger than the Storm" series of television commercials touting the Shore’s recovery and prominently featuring Christie and his family. The $2 million is the difference between the contract that was awarded and the bid of the losing firm. "This governor has used $2 million in recovery funds not to go to victims of Sandy," Buono said. "But to secure a starring role in what is the equivalent of a campaign ad.’"
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