Christie's 'Not My Time' Signals Start of Governor's Race

The following story was written by Mark Magyar and published by our partners at NJSpotlight.com.

One race ended yesterday, but another began.

Gov. Chris Christie's announcement that he would not run for president in 2012 marks the unofficial beginning of the 2013 race for governor.

It guarantees two years of rancorous debate in the legislature, starting in December with Christie's education agenda to end teacher tenure, expand charter schools, and institute a school voucher pilot program.

And it requires Democratic legislative leaders -- especially those who are considering running against the governor -- to carefully calculate how they will deal with Christie moving forward, when to confront and when to cooperate.

Like the speech to the Reagan Library last week that sparked the most recent Christie presidential frenzy, Christie's "non-announcement" yesterday was broadcast live nationwide. This time, however, he was aiming his remarks not at a national audience, but at a New Jersey electorate he will need to rely on for support first on policy issues and then when he runs for reelection.

"Over the last few weeks, I've thought long and hard about this decision. In the end, what I've always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. Now is not my time," Christie said.

"I have a commitment to New Jersey I will not abandon. That is the promise I made to the people of this state when I took office 20 months ago, to fix a broken New Jersey," he said. "This is not the time to leave unfinished business for me. The stakes are too high, and the consequences are too real. New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me."

New Jersey Republicans generally greeted Christie's announcement with relief, a tacit acknowledgement that an all-consuming Christie presidential campaign would have left a vacuum in New Jersey that no one in the GOP could have filled. Asking Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, who was an unknown Monmouth County sheriff two years ago, to fill in for Christie in dealing with Sweeney and Democratic power brokers would have been a tall order. And Christie's insistence on lockstep Republican unity in the legislature has relegated the GOP leadership to working in his shadow.

The Democratic Reaction

Meanwhile, the state's top two Democratic legislative leaders, who cooperated with Christie in June on bills requiring public employees to pay more for their pension and health care benefits, but quarreled violently with the governor over the summer, adopted very different tones in their response to Christie's announcement.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) declared angrily: "A governor who has presided over painful property tax hikes, paid little attention to job creation, opposed new job training, showed no regard for healthcare for women and the poor, made college more expensive, and ignored the needs of impoverished cities had no business even considering running for president."

However, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), said, "Thankfully, we can now move ahead and focus on the real issues that are impacting the people of this state. Unemployment here is above the national average, while more people, particularly children, are living in poverty.... Every moment of the governor's day needs to be focused on how we can get New Jerseyans back to work and how we can grow and aid our business community. I stand ready to work with this governor on doing just that."

The biggest test of Sweeney's willingness to work with Christie will come on ending tenure, expanding charter schools, and passing the Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA), which would divert state tax dollars to private schools through a voucher program in a handful of cities. These education bills are slated for consideration during the lame duck legislative session that takes place following the November 8 elections and before the new state Senate and Assembly are sworn into office in early January.

Controversial bills are often considered during "lame duck" sessions, and the coalition of Democratic legislators aligned with South Jersey power broker George Norcross (including Sweeney), Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo (including Oliver) and Senator Brian Stack (D-Hudson) would be enough to put Christie's education agenda over the top. Norcross and Newark North Ward Democratic power Steven Adubato Sr., DiVincenzo's political mentor, are both outspoken charter school advocates. Support for the voucher bill is particularly strong in Essex County, including the Rev. Reginald Jackson, head of the Black Ministers Council, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Continue reading this story in NJ Spotlight.

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.