Kean students speak on current Christie scandals
By Marisa Gallagher
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been in the news lately for his possible knowledge of lane closures on the George Washington Bridge back in September as well as for accusations by the mayor of Hoboken of withholding Sandy relief funds.
“I’m not sure he’s entirely to blame for what his aids did, he isn’t to blame for their actions if he was unaware the lane closures were intentional,” said freshman Erica Weiss, “he needs to take action to make sure something like this never happens again.”
The GWB lane closures greatly inconvenienced many New Jersey and New York residents including Kean students. Anthony Gagliostro, a Kean student that works in Fort Lee, was one of thousands who sat in hours of traffic on the GWB. The mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich, felt the lane closures were a punishment for not endorsing the governor for re-election.
After the lane closures caused rush-hour traffic to come to a halt for several hours at a time and residential roads to become temporary parking spaces, the lanes were re-opened days later by Port Authority who claimed the lanes were closed due to a conducting traffic study, according to NJ.com.
The U.S. Attorney is investigating the issue and has issued a long list of subpoenas to determine why the lanes were ordered closed. The media is reporting now that Dave Wildstein, a former Port Authority official and Christie ally, claims “evidence exists” tying Christie to knowledge of the lane closures. The governor says he did not know about the lane closures and had nothing to do with it.
While the Bridgegate scandal continues to result in resignations, terminations and subpoenas, Christie faces more allegations. Dawn Zimmer, democratic Mayor of Hoboken, claims Sandy funds were unfairly withheld from residents and business owners whose properties were destroyed in the super storm.
According to an article on NJ.com Zimmer claimed, that the city of Hoboken was deprived of Hurricane Sandy relief money because she refused to give the ‘OK’ on a development project chosen by Christie.
Despite all the scandals and allegations that circle Christie, some residents still have hope that Christie is innocent. Felicia Mulhearn, a senior public relations major, claimed to like Christie after the actions he took following Sandy. Mulhearn is a current resident of Hoboken, and also manages a small business in the city that was also damaged by flooding during Super Storm Sandy.
“I’m not much into politics, I liked him after Sandy,” said Mulhearn. “If I had to vote I would have probably vote for him.”
As a Hoboken resident she spoke on the topic of the recent allegations Mayor Zimmer brought against the governor.
“I think that she is bitter for not getting the funds,” said Mulhearn, “ and needed to blame somebody.”
New Jersey 101.5 FM, whose motto boldly reads “PROUD TO BE NEW JERSEY” on its homepage, aired their monthly edition of ‘Ask the Governor’ on February 3. For those unfamiliar with the monthly-aired radio show, hosted by Eric Scott, it is an opportunity for listeners to submit a question to ask the governor through the radio’s web site, via text, email and by a toll free telephone number. Christie spoke on the Bridgegate scandal where he told listeners he had nothing to do with it.