Uh Oh Christie...
Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:56 am
Christie Aide: 'Time for Some Traffic Problems'
Top Christie Aide Told Port Authority Executive That It Was 'Time for Some Traffic Problems in Fort Lee' Before Lane Closures
A top aide to Gov. Chris Christie told an executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey it was "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" before the authority closed lanes onto the George Washington Bridge in September, triggering a week of massive traffic jams, documents show.
The aide, Bridget Anne Kelly, sent the email, dated Aug. 13, to David Wildstein, a political ally of the governor who was the authority's director of interstate capital projects.
Mr. Wildstein, replied: "Got it."
The email exchange is the clearest sign that a series of lane closures on the bridge in September were carried out at the behest of high-ranking members of Mr. Christie's administration. It is in contrast with the original explanation for the closures — that they were part of a mishandled traffic study by Mr. Wildstein, a career political operative and friend of Mr. Christie's for years.
Democrats have suggested the lane closures were a political gesture from allies of the governor, aimed at Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, who had declined to endorse Mr. Christie for reelection.
The email exchange is contained in a trove of documents subpoenaed from the authority, Mr. Wildstein, and others as part of a Democrat-led investigation of the incident by the New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee. The documents were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
In the past, Mr. Christie has dismissed the inquiry and the traffic incident, once joking that he himself had moved the traffic cones to close off the lanes usually dedicated for local traffic coming onto the bridge.
But the controversy has deepened since then. Mr. Wildstein and Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director and Mr. Christie's top managerial appointee at the authority, both resigned, though Mr. Christie suggested their resignations weren't directly linked to the bridge flap.
Mr. Wildstein and Ms. Kelly, a deputy chief staff for Mr. Christie, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Christie didn't immediately respond to a request for comment and a public appearance scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled.
The emails and text exchanges are among records supplied to the committee by Mr. Wildstein, in compliance with a subpoena for records related to the bridge flap. The committee chairman, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, has said the committee received thousands of pages of documents from those it has subpoenaed, including executives at the Port Authority and Messrs. Wildstein and Baroni.
The documents also show Mr. Wildstein discussing the controversy with Bill Stepien, Mr. Christie's campaign manager and one of his most trusted advisers, after the flap was reported in The Wall Street Journal.
"It's fine. The mayor is an idiot, though," Mr. Stepien wrote to Mr. Wildstein after a Journal story on the controversy in September. "[Win] some, lose some."
"I had empty boxes ready to take to work today, just in case," Mr. Wildstein wrote. He added, in an apparent reference to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich: "It will be a tough November for this little Serbian."
Mr. Sokolich said in an interview Wednesday, "I didn't sign up for this petty political insanity."
Mr. Sokolich said he was now convinced he'd been the target of retribution for not endorsing Mr. Christie. "I've been punished not for something I've done, but for something I didn't do," Mr. Sokolich said. "This is the behavior of a bully in a schoolyard. It is the greatest example of political payback."
Also, Mr. Sokolich said he is Croatian.
In the documents, Mr. Wildstein assures Ms. Kelly in an email that he will keep her informed of "how Fort Lee goes."
The documents also show Mr. Wildstein and Mr. Baroni declining to return calls from Mr. Sokolich on the first morning of the closures, in which he complains about "an urgent matter of public safety in Fort Lee."
"Did he call him back?" Ms. Kelly writes to Mr. Wildstein in an email, after Mr. Wildstein forwarded Mr. Sokolich's message left with Mr. Baroni.
"Radio silence," Mr. Wildstein replied, adding a reference to the mayor of Jersey City, with whom the Christie administration has tussled. "His name comes right after mayor Fulop."
Ms. Kelly replied one minute later: "Ty," a shorthand for thank you.
The documents include a series of text exchanges sent during the lane closures, which were provided to the committee by Mr. Wildstein's attorney and contained large blocks blacked out text.
The text exchanges show Mr. Wildstein conversing with various individuals, whose identities aren't always clear.
"I feel badly about the kids," one text reads, sent at 8:05 a.m. on the second morning of the closures. Fort Lee officials have said that school buses were severely delayed by the traffic jams.
"They are the children of Buono voters," someone replies. Barbara Buono was Mr. Christie's Democratic opponent in the race for governor.
When reached for comment Wednesday, Ms. Buono said, "It's a clear abuse of power. This is what is being inflicted on the people of New Jersey."
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Top Christie Aide Told Port Authority Executive That It Was 'Time for Some Traffic Problems in Fort Lee' Before Lane Closures
A top aide to Gov. Chris Christie told an executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey it was "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" before the authority closed lanes onto the George Washington Bridge in September, triggering a week of massive traffic jams, documents show.
The aide, Bridget Anne Kelly, sent the email, dated Aug. 13, to David Wildstein, a political ally of the governor who was the authority's director of interstate capital projects.
Mr. Wildstein, replied: "Got it."
The email exchange is the clearest sign that a series of lane closures on the bridge in September were carried out at the behest of high-ranking members of Mr. Christie's administration. It is in contrast with the original explanation for the closures — that they were part of a mishandled traffic study by Mr. Wildstein, a career political operative and friend of Mr. Christie's for years.
Democrats have suggested the lane closures were a political gesture from allies of the governor, aimed at Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, who had declined to endorse Mr. Christie for reelection.
The email exchange is contained in a trove of documents subpoenaed from the authority, Mr. Wildstein, and others as part of a Democrat-led investigation of the incident by the New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee. The documents were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
In the past, Mr. Christie has dismissed the inquiry and the traffic incident, once joking that he himself had moved the traffic cones to close off the lanes usually dedicated for local traffic coming onto the bridge.
But the controversy has deepened since then. Mr. Wildstein and Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director and Mr. Christie's top managerial appointee at the authority, both resigned, though Mr. Christie suggested their resignations weren't directly linked to the bridge flap.
Mr. Wildstein and Ms. Kelly, a deputy chief staff for Mr. Christie, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Christie didn't immediately respond to a request for comment and a public appearance scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled.
The emails and text exchanges are among records supplied to the committee by Mr. Wildstein, in compliance with a subpoena for records related to the bridge flap. The committee chairman, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, has said the committee received thousands of pages of documents from those it has subpoenaed, including executives at the Port Authority and Messrs. Wildstein and Baroni.
The documents also show Mr. Wildstein discussing the controversy with Bill Stepien, Mr. Christie's campaign manager and one of his most trusted advisers, after the flap was reported in The Wall Street Journal.
"It's fine. The mayor is an idiot, though," Mr. Stepien wrote to Mr. Wildstein after a Journal story on the controversy in September. "[Win] some, lose some."
"I had empty boxes ready to take to work today, just in case," Mr. Wildstein wrote. He added, in an apparent reference to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich: "It will be a tough November for this little Serbian."
Mr. Sokolich said in an interview Wednesday, "I didn't sign up for this petty political insanity."
Mr. Sokolich said he was now convinced he'd been the target of retribution for not endorsing Mr. Christie. "I've been punished not for something I've done, but for something I didn't do," Mr. Sokolich said. "This is the behavior of a bully in a schoolyard. It is the greatest example of political payback."
Also, Mr. Sokolich said he is Croatian.
In the documents, Mr. Wildstein assures Ms. Kelly in an email that he will keep her informed of "how Fort Lee goes."
The documents also show Mr. Wildstein and Mr. Baroni declining to return calls from Mr. Sokolich on the first morning of the closures, in which he complains about "an urgent matter of public safety in Fort Lee."
"Did he call him back?" Ms. Kelly writes to Mr. Wildstein in an email, after Mr. Wildstein forwarded Mr. Sokolich's message left with Mr. Baroni.
"Radio silence," Mr. Wildstein replied, adding a reference to the mayor of Jersey City, with whom the Christie administration has tussled. "His name comes right after mayor Fulop."
Ms. Kelly replied one minute later: "Ty," a shorthand for thank you.
The documents include a series of text exchanges sent during the lane closures, which were provided to the committee by Mr. Wildstein's attorney and contained large blocks blacked out text.
The text exchanges show Mr. Wildstein conversing with various individuals, whose identities aren't always clear.
"I feel badly about the kids," one text reads, sent at 8:05 a.m. on the second morning of the closures. Fort Lee officials have said that school buses were severely delayed by the traffic jams.
"They are the children of Buono voters," someone replies. Barbara Buono was Mr. Christie's Democratic opponent in the race for governor.
When reached for comment Wednesday, Ms. Buono said, "It's a clear abuse of power. This is what is being inflicted on the people of New Jersey."
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1 ... 1794186904" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/nyreg ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
