Scandal Mushrooms As Hoboken Mayor Says Chris Christie Withheld Sandy Relief Funds

Don't Miss Sarah Jones's Essay On Kristi Noem Titled Predatory Is The Point On The Daily.

Chris Christie’s chances of being the Republican nominee may be evaporating before our eyes as the mayor of Hoboken, NJ is claiming that the governor intentionally withheld Sandy relief funds.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer made the explosive allegation on MSNBC’s Up With Steve Kornacki today.

Part 1 of the interview:

Part 2 of the interview:

‘

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer spilled the beans on the Christie administration’s tactics today by claiming that the governor is holding over $100 million in Sandy relief funds hostage because she refuses to approve a project for a private developer in her city. Zimmer said, “The fact is, the Lt. Gov came to Hoboken, and she pulled me aside in the parking lot and she said, ‘I know that it’s not right, I know that this thing should not be connected, but they are. And if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it.’ the bottom line is that it’s not fair for the governor to hold Sandy funds for the city of Hoboken because he wants me to give back to one private developer, and it’s important that I know it’s really complicated to publicly understand all of this, but I have a legal obligation to follow the law, to bring balanced development to Hoboken. We have one square mile. We have the fourth largest densely populated city in the country so we look very carefully at these things. The Rockefeller group own four acres. Another property owner owns nine acres, so I cannot give a windfall to one property owner because the governor wants me to in exchange for the Sandy funds.”

Mayor Zimmer summed up the allegation, “The facts are this. The Lt. Governor came to Hoboken, and she said to me, you know her words were if you tell anyone I’ll deny it, Well of course, they’re denying it. The bottom line is she said basically, it’s connected. The Sandy funding is being held hostage for the city of Hoboken. It’s connected to the Rockefeller Group project. She said that very clearly, and she said, if you don’t move ahead we’re not going to be able to help you. Well, we’ve barely been helped. We’ve barely gotten any money.”

The mishandling and ransoming of Sandy funds could end up being a much bigger scandal than Bridgegate. All of these incidents put together are painting a picture for the nation of the kind of tactics that Chris Christie uses to get his way. Add all of the pieces together, and the picture that emerges is that of an ambitious, vindictive, power mad bully. The reason why more mayors and others didn’t speak out sooner New Jersey is that they likely feared retribution from the Christie administration. The governor of New Jersey is one of the most powerfull governors in the country. Christie holds a ton of executive power in the state, and from the looks of it, he wasn’t afraid to use it against anyone who he thought crossed him.

Gov. Christie’s image as a straight talking populist man in charge who is getting things done has been blown to smithereens. Each new allegation is another nail in the coffin for his 2016 presidential hopes. That isn’t to say that he can’t win the Republican nomination, but that he will be virtually unelectable if he is the GOP’s 2016 nominee.

The scandals are now building on top of one another, and Chris Christie’s presidential hopes are being buried beneath a pile of his own misdeeds.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association