Gov. Christie's battle over scrapped ARC tunnel costing N.J. $225K a month in interest alone

[nonperson]

Even more pain and suffering for New Jersey at the hands of our incompetent buffoon and rising national Republican star, Chris Christie.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/05/gov_christies_battle_over_scra.html

Gov. Christie's battle over scrapped ARC tunnel costing N.J. $225K a month in interest alone

Published: Sunday, May 29, 2011, 6:00 AM
By Salvador Rizzo/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie’s fight with the federal government over abandoning a train tunnel under the Hudson has already cost New Jerseyans more than $1 million in legal fees and interest, records show.

For a month, Christie has been vowing to appeal a decision from the Obama administration ordering the state to repay $271 million for abruptly pulling out of what was the largest public works project in the country.

In the meantime, interest on New Jersey’s debt is adding up at the rate of $225,000 a month. In addition, bills from Patton Boggs, the Washington law firm hired by Christie in December to fight his battle, have averaged another $300,000 a month, invoices obtained by The Star-Ledger show.

The interest on the $271 million, which began accruing on April 29, could be frozen by a federal judge once an appeal is filed, but neither the governor nor Patton Boggs has said when the case will be brought to court.

A spokesman for the governor, Michael Drewniak, declined to comment, as did a Patton Boggs spokeswoman.

DREWNIAK had no comment? Drewniak who has a snide remark for every occasion suddenly has no comment?

And all this after Sen. Lautenberg brokered a deal that would have returned half the money to New Jersey in the form of other federal aid if Christie agreed to repay the money he literally threw in the garbage when he cancelled the ARC tunnel. Christie flat out refused the deal Sen. Lautenberg brokered and let the deadline for accepting the deal and ending this particular Christie created disaster.

Now New Jersey taxpayers are on the hook for $271 million for the canceled ARC tunnel PLUS monthly interest of $225,000 and over $1,000,000 in legal fees that increase by another $300,000 PER MONTH.

THIS is what Chris Christie calls leadership; ignorance, incompetence, corruption, arrogance and outright stupidity. But none of it matters to Chris Christie because New Jersey taxpayers are always forced to foot the bill for his epic, serial stupidity.

[liberal N proud]

1. This battle is not about the cost of the tunnel

It is about killing alternative transportation (not cars).

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nonperson]

3. Here's the article on the Lautenberg compromise deal that Christie refused

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/nj_to_be_credited_almost_half.html

N.J. can get back almost half of $271M owed to federal government for scrapped ARC tunnel

Published: Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 4:46 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 7:48 PM
By Ginger Gibson/Statehouse Bureau The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — Responding to a request from U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the federal Department of Transportation has agreed to return about half of the $271 million it is asking the state to repay after Gov. Chris Christie canceled the Hudson River tunnel.

If the state pays the $271 million, Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood wrote to Lautenberg that $128 million of that would be placed in the state's Congestion Mitigation Air Quality account to be used on future projects. The federally-administered CMAQ program provides funding for states for projects, like mass transit and emission reductions, that aim to improve air quality.

The $271 million remains due Dec. 24.

“The Governor’s disastrous decision to kill the ARC tunnel put New Jersey taxpayers on the hook to pay back $271 million to the federal government for money the state already spent on the project,” Lautenberg said in a statement. “I have been working since the day Governor Christie unwisely killed the project to clean up this mess and reduce the cost to taxpayers in our state. I am pleased that the Federal government has agreed to cut the ultimate cost to our state nearly in half - by $128 - million and I will continue to look for other ways to ease the fallout from the Governor's ill-advised decision.”

Christie decided to hire Patten Boggs at over $300,000 per month in legal fees and pay another $225,000 per month in interest rather than take a deal that would have ended the crisis Christie himself created and would have also returned $128 million of the repayment to New Jersey. Only a complete fool would initiate such a crisis to begin with then compound his insane course of action and that's exactly what New Jersey has in Gov. Christie: a complete fool.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Here's something else you didn't know about Christie...

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/gop_gov_candidate_chris_christ_2.html

<...>
"Christie was driving a rented BMW sedan and apparently had lost his way when he attempted to turn right onto a street that was one-way in the other direction, according to the police report. A motorcyclist, Andre Mendonca of Elizabeth, was riding towards Christie, and both men saw one another and put on the brakes, police said. Christie's vehicle came to a stop, and the motorcycle then "fell on its side and slid into his vehicle," according to the police report.
<...>
State motor vehicle documents show that since 1985, Christie, 46, has racked up 25 violation points (not all at one time), has been in six accidents and was cited 13 times for moving violations, including five without points."
<...>

Christie yakked on about how "That guy hit ME" while Mendonca was in the trauma center. Mendonca sued him, but it was settled and no one knows for how much. He isn't talking, so one could speculate whether he was well paid, scared shitless, or faced some other Joisey way to keep people quiet..

[nonperson]

5. Oh, I remember that story

Christie was US Attorney at the time and cited his position at the scene of the accident. Christie was driving the WRONG WAY down a one-way street, hits a motorcyclist, tells the cops he's US Attorney for New Jersey, and gets to drive away unscathed while the motorcyclist is in the trauma ward. Then nothing happens. As usual. It's the story of Chris Christie's life. Always screwing up, always up to something, never being held accountable for anything. Sound familiar? Christie is George W. Bush in a fat suit.

[Jim Lane]

9. Defendants paying settlements often insist on confidentiality.

I'd guess that Christie offered Mendonca a generous settlement, on condition that he agree not to disclose the amount.

In the infamous McDonald's "hot coffee" case, you haven't heard the injured victim's side of the story. That's because, as a condition for paying her and dropping its appeal, McDonald's demanded that she and her lawyer agree not to comment publicly about the case.

Christie, like McDonald's, probably preferred that the truth be suppressed.

[Walk away]

6. The people of NJ are getting just what they deserve...

and I say that as a resident of Bergen County. How we let this idiot become the Governor of our State is beyond belief. Unlike states like Texas, our chief executive actually runs the state and this jerk is running it into the ground. Our school system may never recover and that means our property values won't either.

[nonperson]

7. That is the crux of this massive scam Christie is running

Christie claims the state is BROKE, he cuts EVERYTHING that has to do with any program that helps the middle class and poor, cuts education by over a billion dollars, cuts state aid to towns and cities that causes massive layoffs of police, fire, and other essential services, cuts property tax relief for seniors COMPLETELY, all while literally throwing away billions of dollars in federal grants and aid AND ALL WHILE GIVING MILLIONAIRES A TAX BREAK!

Meanwhile New Jerseyans, already paying the highest property taxes in the nation, have all their services cut while the property tax burden increases at record levels of over seven percent in Christie's first year in office!

THEN CHRISTIE GIVES MONEY AWAY, IN OUR "BROKE" STATE, TO REVEL CASINO ($261 MILLION) AND XANADU ($200 MILLION)! A CASINO AND AN AMUSEMENT PARK ARE CHRIS CHRISTIE'S IDEA OF INVESTMENT IN A STATE HE SWEARS IS BROKE! HE LITERALLY THROWS AWAY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN AID IN A STATE HE SWEARS IS BROKE! AND NEW JERSEY TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING MORE THAN EVERY FOR LESS THAN EVER!

You're right. We're getting just what we deserve for electing this incompetent, corrupt fool as governor. But I sure as hell didn't vote for him so why am I getting it too?

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Ya know, when he lost that 400 million in Race to the Top money I thought...

it was just his arrogance and incompetence. Of course he didn't take any of the blame for it after tearing up the deal with the teacher's union and screwing the Federal pooch.

When Schundler fell on his sword over that one, I was wondering why he was being so loyal-- I never liked Schundler all that much, but I thought he was an honest man who actually tried.

Maybe that was it-- maybe Shundler saw that it was part of a sorry plan, and that was his way out of it. At the very least he must have seen the arrogance and stupidity.

Christie's more'n likely one term-- remember how Whitman's re-election margin was almost exactly the same number as the CWA membership? Can't imagine Christie getting one union vote next time. (Watch even the Longshoremen dumping him.)