Teaneck—State Senator Loretta Weinberg, Majority Leader of the State Senate, talked to the JLBC last week about the bi-partisan NJ Legislative Select Committee on Special Investigations, which she co-chairs with Assemblyman John Wisniewski. Last week, the committee issued almost 20 subpoenas to members of Gov. Chris Christie’s former staffers as well members of this current administration.
Weinberg explained that two years ago, the Assembly Transportation Committee was authorized to investigate the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s financial practices, including how it sets tolls. Its practices are quite opaque to the public, to the media, and to legislators. That committee was chaired by Wisniewski and was given subpoena powers in September 2013. On Jan. 16, the Senate and Assembly each authorized separate bi-partisan Select Committees to investigate what is referred to as “Bridge-gate.” Each committee was authorized to have subpoena powers. On Jan. 27, the two Committees were combined into a single joint bi-partisan committee, with the same mandate and the same powers as its predecessor committees. Weinberg was chosen to co-chair the Joint Committee with her colleague, Wisniewski.
Weinberg was the first legislator to publicly question the Port Authority’s closing of two access lanes to the George Washington Bridge for four days during the second week of last September, arguably one of the busiest weeks of the year for bridge traffic. On those days, traffic to the bridge was backed up for hours. That week is also considered, by Homeland Security, one of the highest-risk weeks of the year because of the 9/11 anniversary.
When the Port Authority’s Executive Director, Patrick Foye, was informed about the ensuing traffic jams, he immediately called a halt to the closures and wrote that they “violate Federal Law and the laws of both States” and “they caused a threat to public safety.” That period included the opening day of school in Fort Lee and all other districts in Bergen County. It also included the annual commemoration of the destruction of the Twin Towers. Those New Jerseyans who wanted to attend these ceremonies, as Gov. Christie did, needed to cross the Hudson River via the bridge or tunnels. According to Weinberg and others, it is not clear what the governor did in response to these statements and events.
According to Weinberg, the purpose and scope of the Joint Committee are laid out in its authorizing legislation. It was authorized by a unanimous vote of all the Republican and Democratic members of both houses. It is mandated to investigate the closing of the access lanes, the management systems within the Port Authority, and any other matters that might be unearthed during the course of the investigation. This is expected to lead to legislation to reform the PA so that it can be more accountable and responsive to the public’s needs. Weinberg said that this should be important to anyone who uses PA facilities, which include the GWB, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, and the PATH trains. The toll for the GWB has risen to $13 per trip, and it is anticipated that the PA will raise it again soon. The PA controls billions of dollars of critical infrastructure and real estate on both sides of the Hudson. Weinberg says the public and the legislature have a legitimate right to investigate how they carry out their responsibilities and manage these huge assets.
Asked whether Gov. Christie is being cooperative with the committee’s investigation, the Senator explained that she has been spending so much time in responding to the media that she has not yet had a chance to review all the documents that have been submitted to the Committee. She said that time will tell whether he will cooperate. She found it curious that while the governor did not bother to ask Bridget Anne Kelly, his Assistant Chief of Staff, why she initiated the shut down of the bridge lanes, he has authorized his attorneys to do so now that investigations of this matter are being carried out by the State Legislature, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and possibly the U.S. Department of Transportation.
She also noted that he heretofore has not inquired about the involvement of his Press Secretary, Michael Drewniak, whom he has fired, or his two highest-ranking appointees to the PA (Bill Baroni and David Wildstein), who resigned in the wake of the Assembly investigation. At a press conference on Dec. 13, announcing their resignations, the governor affirmed their actions were “absolutely, unequivocally not” political retribution.
Weinberg judged it “inappropriate” for his attorneys to now seek to interview Mark Sokolich, the mayor of Fort Lee, and Dawn Zimmer, the mayor of Hoboken, who was directed by the U.S. District Attorney to not speak about the matter any further with anyone else. It is also interesting, she said, that the governor’s chief attorney, Randy Mastro, was hired to investigate the scandal and also to represent the governor and six of his subordinates.
When asked if Gov. Christie is in control of his own office and able to effectively govern the state, Weinberg pointed out that all he has done about the Bridge scandal is fire two of his staffers. His presentation of the State Budget is due on Feb. 24. Documents that he should have already supplied to the appropriate legislative committees are late. His handling of federal funds for Sandy Superstorm relief is being investigated by Sen. Bob Gordon’s Legislative Oversight Committee. Many individual applications for aid were long delayed and wrongly denied. The contractor hired to administer the process was fired several weeks ago without any explanation to date to anyone outside the governor’s office. There will also be investigations into how New Jersey Transit handled “mass transit Superbowl,” during which tens of thousands of riders were delayed for hours in horribly overcrowded conditions. He will also have to explain how he handled New Jersey’s state debt during his first four years in office, and what he plans to do about paying the legislated sums into the state’s pension system.
In response to questions about whether the governor is devoting enough time to state matters now that he travels extensively in his role as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Weinberg said that is his decision to make. She also declined to comment on why sitting Republican governors and gubernatorial candidates in the three states he most recently visited (Florida, Texas, and Illinois) avoided being seen with him in public or in pictures.
One of those often referred to as a Christie mentor is David Samson, whom he appointed Chairman of the PA, and who is under subpoena by the Joint Committee. Another such individual is former chairman of the RGA, Hailey Barbour. When interviewed on television about Christie’s handling of Bridge-gate and West Virginia’s governor’s handling of the chemical spill that made water unusable for hundreds of thousands of residents for weeks and even today, Barbour responded that they “had taken full responsibility” for their respective disasters, and “that showed that they were good leaders,” even though neither of their problems have been resolved.
Weinberg said that may be Gov. Barbour’s evaluation, but it was not hers. She also pointed out that AshBritt, the company hired with a no-bid contract to cleanup the shore, and now under investigation for its very high charges, is a client of Barbour’s legal practice. It was noted that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is perhaps Gov. Christie’s most vocal defender and that the governor has many connections to Giuliani, including hiring the same now discredited campaign manager (Bill Stepian) and hiring the Mayor’s chief deputy in both the U.S. District Attorney for Manhattan’s office and later at City Hall (Randy Mastro) as his chief attorney. Weinberg merely pointed out that neither Barbour nor Giuliani live in New Jersey nor pay taxes here. She also reminded JLBC readers that her constituents in Bergen County were the citizens who were most affected and disadvantaged by the bridge delays.
By Stephen Tencer
