General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIn 2013, Christie diverted $2 million in Sandy Relief to promote himself on TV.
Gov. Chris Christies habit of using his public office to promote his presidential ambitions has reached a new low.
Weve seen him do it before. He closed down six Planned Parenthood clinics to appease right-wing primary voters. Hes dragged his feet relentlessly over medical marijuana and dismissed concerns over climate change for the same reason. This fall he is wasting taxpayer money by holding an election in October, in addition to the regularly scheduled November election, solely to protect the large victory margin he expects for his party.
But this time, hes outdone himself. This time, he siphoned off money that was intended for victims of Sandy to promote himself in a series of TV ads. That is a new low, one that should play prominently in his campaign for re-election.
Heres whats new: It turns out the Christie administration turned away a qualified low-bidder seeking to produce the series of TV commercials promoting tourism at the Shore, titled Stronger Than the Storm.
Instead, Christies appointed cronies chose to spend $2 million more for a campaign produced by MWW, a public relations firm based in East Rutherford thats known for its abundant political connections in both parties.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2013/08/gov_christies_shamless_2m_self.html
jsr
(7,712 posts)JustAnotherGen
(31,816 posts)RandySF
(58,786 posts)I did not pay much attention to NJ because the race was long over. Thus, I did not realize that ad was paid for with taxpayer dollars.
JustAnotherGen
(31,816 posts)Unfortunately we can only go back to October/September in 2014 in the Politics 2014 board -but those of us volunteering on the Buono campaign were trying to ring the alarm in May/June when the ads started.
The agency that would have charged less didn't want him in the campaign. Then he tried to make his weight an issue in the campaign and tried to make it like Buono was making fun of it in the ads. Not true. But they were not inspiring ads at all.