NJ Watchdog: Christie's transparency disappears

Chris Christie and the case of a public record that mysteriously shrunk in half are returning to Superior Court.

Last month, the court ordered the governor’s office to release its “secret” directory of media contacts and VIPs, assembled at taxpayers’ expense.

But what Christie’s staff gave New Jersey Watchdog last week contained only half of the information described in court papers. Instead of 2,500 names, the list has only 1,229 entries.

Judge Mary C. Jacobson will hear arguments next week on whether or not the record was altered before its release, a possible violation of the court’s order.

It is another chapter in the governor’s contentious battle to keep confidential a key cog in a publicity machine that turned Christie into a national figure and set the stage for his White House run.

The list was created by the Christie’s communications staff of 16 full-time state employees paid $1.36 million in salaries last year, New Jersey Watchdog found. It helped the governor score countless national television appearances, plus 8,761,511 views on YouTube, 176,955 likes on Facebook and 6,810 tweets to 489,000 followers on Twitter during his first five years in office.

At the center of the latest dispute is a certification by Matt Katz of WNYC. Katz was allowed to review but not copy the list at the governor’s office last year, as part of a settlement in a public records lawsuit by New York Public Radio.

Katz reported the list contained roughly 2,500 names. In viewing the record released to New Jersey Watchdog, he found “substantial differences” between it and what the governor’s staff had allowed him to inspect. In his statement to the court, Katz gave specific examples of information conspicuously missing from the list.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/240489/christie-transparency-disappears/.

NJ Watchdog: Phantom of New Jersey? Christie attends first state event in 51 days

Mark your calendars! Gov. Chris Christie made his first New Jersey public appearance in 51 days on Tuesday.

The governor has been a virtual phantom in the Garden State, especially since he officially announced his run for the White House in June. Since then, he has focused primarily on the town hall circuit in New Hampshire and other campaign activities.

Christie made a brief stop at a Paterson hospital to talk about drug addiction treatment. The governor “was in a big hurry, as he did not answer any questions in and out of the event,” according to NJTV.

In 2015, he has traveled outside New Jersey for all or part of 141 days — more than half of the ongoing year. The governor’s day-to-day activities are recorded by Matt Katz’s “The Christie Tracker” blog for WYNC radio.

In answering critics, Christie has claimed he can govern the state by telephone, email and Internet during his road trips. Yet New Jersey is further than ever from solving some of its most pressing problems.

The deficit in state pension and health benefit plans for public workers has reached $194 billion, a New Jersey Watchdog analysis revealed last week. Of that total, the state is responsible for $145 billion of that sum; local governments bear the brunt of the balance.

A separate report found New Jersey ranks worst in that nation for debt burden per taxpayer.

A Truth in Accounting report, updated with research by New Jersey Watchdog, pegged the state government’s total debt at $170 billion, or more than $55,000 for each taxpayer. That figure includes what the state owes for pensions, employee health coverage, bonds and other liabilities — but not the debts of the state's 21 counties, 565 municipalities and 610 school districts.

A gaffe by Christie during last week’s GOP presidential debate on CNN underscored the governor’s lack of presence, both physical and mental. During a discussion of climate change, he referred to himself as governor in the past tense.

“When I was governor, I pulled out of the regional cap and trade deal, the only state in the Northeast that did that. And we still reached our goals,” said Christie.

The faux pas was highlighted in a column by The Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine.