Chris Christie Biography

Christopher James "Chris" Christie (born September 6, 1962) is the 55th Governor of New Jersey, and a leading member of the Republican Party in the United States.

A Newark native, Christie became interested in politics at an early age, and volunteered for the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Tom Kean in 1977. Graduating from the University of Delaware, he then earned a J.D. degree at Seton Hall Law School.

Christie joined a Cranford, New Jersey law firm in 1987, where he became a partner in 1993, and continued practicing until 2002. Meanwhile, he was elected as a county legislator (called a "Freeholder") in Morris County, serving from 1995 to 1998 during which time he generally pushed for lower taxes and lower spending. By 2002, Christie had done campaign work for both presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush; the latter appointed him United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey where he served from 2002 to 2008. In that position, he emphasized prosecutions of political corruption, and also obtained convictions for sexual slavery, arms trafficking, racketeering by gangs, and other federal crimes.

In January 2009, Christie declared his candidacy for Governor of New Jersey. He won the Republican primary, and then defeated incumbent Governor Jon Corzine in the general election. Christie, who was seen as a possible candidate in the 2012 presidential election, declined to run, but he delivered the keynote address at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Chris Christie is widely viewed as a possible presidential candidate in 2016.

Early life, education, and family

Chris Christie was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Sondra A. (née Grasso) and Wilbur James "Bill" Christie, a certified public accountant. His father is of Scottish and Irish descent and his mother was of Sicilian ancestry. He was raised in Livingston, graduating from Livingston High School in 1980. Christie's father and mother were Republican and Democratic, respectively, and yet it was his mother who indirectly made him a Republican, by encouraging him in 1977 to volunteer for the gubernatorial candidate who became his role model: Tom Kean.

Christie graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1984 and Seton Hall University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987. Christie was admitted to the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Bar of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, in December 1987. Later in life, he was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Rutgers University, which is the state university of New Jersey, and from Monmouth University.

In 1986, Christie married Mary Pat Foster, a fellow student at the University of Delaware. After marriage they shared a studio apartment in Summit, New Jersey. Mary Pat Christie pursued a career in investment banking, eventually working at the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald. She left the firm in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. They have four children: Andrew (born 1993), Sarah (born 1996), Patrick (born 2000), and Bridget (born 2003).

Christie and his family reside in Mendham Township. His hobbies have included coaching little league, cheering for the New York Mets, and attending Bruce Springsteen concerts (over 120 of them).

Law practice and local politics

Lawyer

In 1987 Christie joined the law firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci of Cranford, New Jersey. In 1993 he was named a partner in the firm. Christie specialized in securities law, appellate practice, election law, and government affairs. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association and was a member of the Election Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Morris County Freeholder

Christie, at the time a resident of Mendham, was in 1994 elected as a Republican to the Board of Chosen Freeholders for Morris County, New Jersey, after he and a running mate defeated incumbent freeholders in the party primary. Following the election, the defeated incumbents filed a defamation lawsuit against Christie based on statements made during the primary campaign. Christie had incorrectly stated that the incumbents were under "investigation" for violating certain local laws. The lawsuit was settled out of court, with Christie acknowledging that the prosecutor had actually convened an "inquiry" instead of an "investigation", and apologizing for the error which he said was unintentional.

As freeholder, Christie required the county government to obtain three quotes from qualified firms for all contracts. He led a successful effort to bar county officials from accepting gifts from people and firms doing business with the county. He voted to raise the county's open space tax for land preservation; however, county taxes on the whole were decreased by 6.6% during his tenure. He successfully pushed for the dismissal of an architect hired to design a new jail, saying that the architect was costing taxpayers too much money. The architect then sued Christie for defamation over remarks he made about the dismissal, eventually dropping the suit without explanation.

In 1995, Christie announced a bid for a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly; he and attorney Rick Merkt ran as a ticket against incumbent Assemblyman Anthony Bucco and attorney Michael Patrick Carroll in the Republican primary. Bucco and Carroll, the establishment candidates, defeated the up-and-comers by a wide margin. After this loss, Christie's bid for re-nomination to the freeholder board was unlikely, as unhappy Republicans recruited John J. Murphy to run against Christie in 1997. Murphy defeated Christie in the primary. Murphy, who had falsely accused Christie of having the county pay his legal bills in the architect's lawsuit, was sued by Christie after the election. They settled out of court; nevertheless, Christie's career in Morris County politics was over by 1998.

Lobbyist

When Christie's part-time position as a Chosen Freeholder lapsed, he returned full attention to his law firm Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci. Alongside fellow partner and later, gubernatorial campaign fundraiser Bill Palatucci, Christie's firm opened an office in the state capital, Trenton, devoted mainly to lobbying. Between 1999 and 2001, Christie and Palatucci lobbied on behalf of, among others, GPU Energy for deregulation of New Jersey's electric and gas industry; the Securities Industry Association to block the inclusion of securities fraud under the state's Consumer Fraud Act; Hackensack University Medical Center for state grants; and the University of Phoenix for a New Jersey higher education license.

United States Attorney

Christie served as the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey from January 17, 2002, to December 1, 2008. His office included 137 attorneys, with offices in Newark, Trenton, and Camden. Christie also served as one of the 17 U.S. Attorneys on the advisory committee for Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales.

Appointment

On December 7, 2001, Christie was nominated to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 2001, and sworn into office on January 17, 2002.

Some members of the New Jersey Bar professed disappointment at Christie's lack of criminal law experience and his history as a top fundraiser for George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. Democrats seized upon the role played by Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, after Christie's law partner, William Palatucci, a Republican political consultant and Bush supporter, boasted that he had selected a United States attorney by forwarding Christie's résumé to Rove.

Christie's aunt's second husband's brother was an organized crime figure; according to Christie, the FBI presumably knew of that distant relation when they conducted his background check. Later, Christie recused himself in that matter, and commented about what he had learned growing up with such a relative: "It just told me that you make bad decisions in life and you wind up paying a price."

Record

Christie received praise for his record of convictions in public corruption cases. His office convicted or won guilty pleas from 130 public officials, both Republican and Democratic, at the state, county and local levels. The most notable of these convictions included those of Democratic Hudson County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski in 2002 on bribery charges, Republican Essex County Executive James W. Treffinger in 2003 on corruption charges, former Democratic New Jersey Senate President John A. Lynch, Jr., in 2006 on charges of mail fraud and tax evasion, State Senator and former Newark Democratic mayor Sharpe James in 2008 on fraud charges, and Democratic State Senator Wayne R. Bryant in 2008 on charges of bribery, mail fraud, and wire fraud.

According to Rachel Barkow and Anthony Barkow, both of NYU Law School, Christie negotiated seven deals during his tenure as U.S. Attorney called deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs), some of which were controversial. Under agreements like these, corporations avoid prosecution if they promise not just to obey the law or pay for bad acts, but also promise to change personnel, or revamp business practices, or adopt new types of corporate governance. Since 2002, these types of agreements have been sharply on the rise among federal prosecutors, with 23 between 2002 and 2005, and 66 between 2006 and 2008. Outside monitors are appointed in about half of all DPAs, to make sure that the corporations comply. In one case, Christie recommended appointment of The Ashcroft Group, a consulting firm owned by his former boss John Ashcroft, as an outside monitor of Zimmer Holdings"? a contract worth $52 million from Zimmer. In another case, Christie's office deferred criminal prosecution of pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers in a deal that required the company to dedicate $5 million for a business ethics chair at Seton Hall University School of Law, Christie's alma mater.

Christie defended the appointment of Ashcroft as someone with the necessary prominence and legal acumen, and defended the Seton Hall donation as happenstance given that there was already a business ethics endowed chair at the only other law school in the state. Still, cases like these led to new rules within the Justice Department, and sparked congressional hearings on the subject.

Besides doubling the size of the anticorruption unit for New Jersey, Christie also prosecuted other federal crimes. For example, he obtained convictions of brothel owners who kept Mexican teenagers in slavery as prostitutes, convicted 42 gang members of the Double II Set of various crimes including more than 25 murders, and convicted British trader Hemant Lakhani of trying to sell missiles. Despite claims of entrapment, Lakhani was convicted by jury in April 2005 of attempting to provide material support to terrorists, unlawful brokering of foreign defense articles and attempting to import merchandise into the U.S. by means of false statements, plus two counts of money laundering. He was sentenced to 47 years in prison.

During the second term of George W. Bush, a controversy arose about the administration's dismissal of several U.S. attorneys, allegedly for political reasons. When it was revealed that Christie had been on a preliminary version of the hit list, New York Senator Charles Schumer said: "I was shocked when I saw Chris Christie's name on the list last night. It just shows a [Justice] department that has run amok." Pat Meehan, the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, said: "Among his peers, Chris stands out as one of the most admired. If you were to create a list of the U.S. attorneys who have had the greatest impact, Chris would be one of the top two or three names I'd put on it. This defies explanation."

Christie's opponents claimed that he had gotten off the Bush administration's hit list by going after U.S. Senator Robert Menendez; for example, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote, "Menendez's claims of persecution now seem quite plausible." Christie had issued a subpoena regarding Menendez 65 days before the 2006 election. Christie's biographers (journalists Michael Symons and Bob Ingle) have concluded that, "The timing of the Menendez-related subpoena doesn't line up right to support the critics' theory." Christie's aides have said that the subpoena was prompted by a newspaper report about Menendez, which prosecutors feared might imminently lead to destruction of documents and other evidence. The investigation of Menendez continued for years after Christie left office as U.S. Attorney, until Menendez was finally cleared on October 5, 2011.

Governor of New Jersey

Campaign for office

Christie filed as a candidate for the office of Governor on January 8, 2009. In the primary on June 2, Christie won the Republican nomination with 55% of the vote, defeating opponents Steve Lonegan and Rick Merkt. He then chose Kimberly Guadagno, Monmouth County sheriff, to complete his campaign ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor. On November 3, Christie defeated Jon Corzine by a margin of 48.5% to 44.9%, with 5.8% of the vote going to independent candidate Chris Daggett.

Christie took office as Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010. He chose not to move his family into "Drumthwacket", the governor's official mansion, and instead resides in a private Mendham Township, New Jersey, residence.

Actions as governor

Fiscal

During his term as Governor, Christie delivered balanced budgets annually for the state as required by the New Jersey Constitution. He claims to have done so without increasing taxes, though this has been debated as he has made reductions to tax credits such as the earned income tax credit and property tax relief programs. Under Christie, there have so far been no rate increases in the state's top three revenue generators: income tax, sales tax, and corporate business tax.

Christie originally proposed a 10 percent income tax cut for all residents of the state, but he later targeted his proposal for people earning less than $400,000 per year, and it would be in the form of an income tax credit equal to 10 percent of their property taxes, capped at $10,000 (phased in over four years). The Democratic-controlled Legislature has not as of yet implemented that plan.

On February 11, 2010, Christie signed Executive Order No. 14, which declared that a "state of fiscal emergency exists in the State of New Jersey" due to the projected $2.2 billion budget deficit for the current fiscal year (FY 2010). In a speech before a special joint session of the New Jersey Legislature on the same day, Christie addressed the budget deficit and proposed various fiscal measures to close the gap. Christie also suspended funding for the Department of the Public Advocate and called for its elimination. Some Democrats criticized Christie for not first consulting them on his budget cuts and for circumventing the Legislature's role in the budget process. In late June 2011, Christie utilized New Jersey's line item veto to eliminate nearly $1 billion from the proposed budget, signing it into law just hours prior to the July 1, 2011, beginning of the state's fiscal year.

In 2010, Christie signed legislation to limit annual property tax growth to 2 percent.

In June 2011 Christie announced a deal with the Democratic leadership of the legislature on a reform of public employee pensions and benefits. The deal raised public employees' pension contributions, mandated that the state make annual payments into the system, increased public employee contributions toward health insurance premiums, and ended collective bargaining for heath benefits. The reform is projected to save the state $120 billion over 30 years.

During his second year in office, Christie signed into law a payroll tax cut that reduced funding of the Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) fund by $190 million per year. Effective for calendar year 2012, the tax cut authorizes the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to reduce payroll deduction for most employees from $148 to $61 per year. According to Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths, New Jersey workers had been paying much more into the disability fund than what is needed to keep it solvent. The changes took effect on January 1, 2012. The authorizing legislation was sponsored by Senator Shirley Turner of Lawrenceville.

In June 2013, Christie signed a $33 billion state budget that makes a record $1.7 billion payment to the state's pension fund and increases school funding by almost $100 million.

On September 18, 2013, Christie signed legislation to overhaul the state's business tax incentive programs. The legislation reduces the number of tax incentive programs from five to two, raises the caps on tax credits, and allows smaller companies to qualify. It also increases the credits available for businesses in South Jersey.

Education

On August 25, 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $400 million in federal Race to the Top education grants to New Jersey would not be funded due to a clerical error in the state's application made by an unidentified mid-level state official. Christie responded by saying that the Obama administration bureaucracy had overstepped its authority and that the error lay in an administration failure to communicate with the New Jersey government. However, information later came to light that the issue had already been raised with Christie's Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, and in response Christie had asked for Schundler's resignation; Schundler initially agreed to resign, but the following morning asked to be fired instead, citing his need to claim unemployment benefits. Schundler maintained that he told Christie the truth and that Christie was misstating what actually occurred.

In January 2011, the Christie administration approved 23 new charter schools, including the state's first independent school for children with autism. The approvals increased the number of charter schools in the state to 96.

On August 6, 2012, Christie signed a law reforming the teacher tenure system in New Jersey's public schools. Under the new law, teachers will be required to work four years, instead of three, in order to earn tenure. In addition teachers will need to earn positive ratings two years in a row before tenure can be awarded. Tenured teachers with poor ratings for two consecutive years will be eligible for dismissal. Finally the law limits the hearing process for appeals related to dismissal of tenured teachers to 105 days.

On March 6, 2013, the Christie administration released proposed regulations to overhaul the process of evaluating public school teachers in New Jersey. Under the proposal, a percentage of teachers' evaluations would be based on student growth on state tests or based on student achievement goals set with principals.

Social

On January 23, 2012, Christie filed the first nomination to the New Jersey Supreme Court of an openly gay man, Bruce Harris, and an Asian American, Phillip Kwon. Kwon's nomination was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the first gubernatorial nominee for the Supreme Court in modern times to fail to be approved. Two months later, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the nomination of Bruce Harris, purportedly on grounds that he lacked courtroom experience. The partisan impasse over Christie's appointments to fill the vacancies on the New Jersey Supreme Court continues.

On February 17, 2012, he vetoed a bill that would have legalized same sex marriage in New Jersey. He stated his belief that such a change requires a constitutional amendment and asked the legislature to provide for a referendum on the issue. He also called for creation of an ombudsman to ensure compliance with the state's existing civil union law.

On September 21, 2012, Governor Christie signed Assembly Bill No. 2647 (A-2647) into law that requires employers to post and distribute notice of employees' rights to gender-equal pay, but vetoed other gender parity bills.

In December 2012, Christie nominated Japanese American David Bauman, from Monmouth County, to the New Jersey Supreme Court; if confirmed he would be the first Asian American to be sit on the state's high court. Opponents, including the Latino Action Network and New Jersey Legislature's black caucus, and more than 50 other groups, oppose the nomination, claiming that the appointment would not make the court more diverse.

On August 19 2013, Christie signed a bill outlawing gay conversion therapy in children, making New Jersey the second state to institute such a law.

Hurricane Sandy emergency relief bill

On December 28, 2012, the U.S. Senate approved an emergency relief bill to provide $60 billion for states affected by Sandy, but the House (in effect) postponed action until the next session (which began January 3) by adjourning without voting on the bill. Both Governor Christie and Congressman Peter T. King of New York criticized the U.S. Congress for delaying the passing of the emergency aid. The comments were of particular note because both politicians criticized the leadership of their own party. King is quoted as saying, "I'm saying right now, anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans is out of their minds," he said in an interview on Fox News. "Because what they did last night was put a knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans. It was an absolute disgrace." Christie was quoted as saying, ""It's why the American people hate Congress. Unlike the people in Congress, we have actual responsibilities."

Travel out of state as governor

Continuing the tradition of earlier New Jersey governors since the 1980s, Christie traveled to Israel in April 2012. His itinerary in that region included Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tiberias, and the Golan Heights. During the visit, which included meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, Christie commented that "Jerusalem has never been better or freer than under Israeli control". Christie subsequently called a helicopter tour of the West Bank "eye-opening", and cautioned against Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. The official title given to the trip was "Jersey to Jerusalem Trade Mission: Economic Growth, Diplomacy, Observance". The visit to Israel was Christie's first official overseas trip since taking office. From Israel Christie continued with his family to Jordan, as guests of King Abdullah II.

2013 re-election campaign

See New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013 for more information On November 26, 2012, Christie filed papers to run for a second term in office, which would begin in January 2014. His advisors say that the strategy is to focus on winning a huge margin in New Jersey against Democratic opponent Barbara Buono, which would also help position the governor for the presidential primaries, while developing a model for other Republican candidates. In the process, Christie is building a national fundraising network, aided by the fact that only one other state has a gubernatorial contest in 2013, and those financial resources are intended to support a major outreach effort toward blacks, Hispanics and women. The election is scheduled for November 5, 2013.

Public opinion

Christie has received generally favorable public opinion survey ratings during his term in office, as shown by the following examples:

• Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind conducted in January 2010 found that he entered office with a 48"13% (approval-disapproval) rate.
• Having announced deep cuts to the state budget, PublicMind released another study which showed that New Jersey voters split their opinions: 44% approving of Christie, 42% disapproving.
• His approval ratings recovered by October 2010, when according to the FDU PublicMind poll, 51% of voters approved the way Christie was handling his job
• According to a January 2011 FDU PublicMind poll, Christie began the year with the highest approval ratings of his career, 53%.
• According to a January 2012 poll conducted by FDU's PublicMind, with a sample of 800 registered voters, 53% approved of the way Gov. Christie was handling his job
• In January 2013, PublicMind found that 73% of registered voters approved of the job that Christie was doing as governor.

Presidential politics

Christie was the subject of ongoing speculation that he would attempt a run for President of the United States in 2012 by competing in the Republican primaries. He consistently denied any interest in launching a presidential bid. In September 2011, a number of press stories cited unnamed sources indicating Christie was reconsidering his decision to stay out of the race. An Associated Press story dated September 30 indicated a decision on whether he would run for president in 2012 would be made "soon". In a late September speech at the Reagan Library, he had again said he was not a candidate for president, but the speech also coincided with his "reconsideration" of the negative decision. One commentator at that time reviewed reported support from David H. and Charles G. Koch, Kenneth Langone, and others for Christie's potential candidacy. Retired GE CEO Jack Welch went on Charlie Rose to articulate his and others' support for a candidacy, and Langone went on the interview show October 4.

Decision not to run in 2012

On October 4, 2011, Christie acknowledged he had in fact reconsidered his decision but then, again, declined to run. It was "for real this time", as one report put it. "Now is not my time", Christie said. "New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me," Christie added in the one-hour Trenton press conference held to announce the decision. On October 11, 2011, Christie endorsed Mitt Romney for president.

The New York Post has cited anonymous sources as saying Christie was not willing to give up the governorship to be Mitt Romney's running mate because he had doubts about their ability to win. The Romney campaign was reported to have asked him to resign his governorship if he became the vice-presidential nominee because "pay to play" laws restrict campaign contributions from financial corporation executives to governors running for federal office when the companies do business with the governor's state.

Activities related to 2012 presidential election

Christie gave the keynote address at the Republican National Convention in August, 2012. On October 30, 2012, during a press conference to discuss the impact of Hurricane Sandy, Christie praised the disaster relief efforts of President Barack Obama. Christie, at the same time, reportedly turned down requests from the Romney campaign to appear at the presidential rallies; a decision he earlier implied he would make on an interview with Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy.

Christie stated he still supported Romney and was opposed to many of Obama's policies, but thought he deserved credit for his help in the disaster reliefs in New Jersey. Christie had campaigned with Romney for much of the election, but stated Romney did not ask him to join him in campaigns for the last week before the election, to allow Christie to focus on disaster relief. Christie faced significant backlash before and after the election from conservative Republicans who accused him of acting to bolster his own personal political standing at the expense of Romney and the party.

Health and weight

Political commentators debated whether Christie's weight would or should affect his viability as a 2012 presidential candidate, either for medical or social reasons. In 2011, columnist Eugene Robinson applied the term "extremely obese" to Christie, citing medical guidelines established by the National Institutes of Health. Christie himself was reportedly concerned about his weight and its implications for his health, while describing himself as relatively healthy overall.

The Obesity Society, which is the leading scientific society dedicated to the study of that subject, released a statement asserting that "to suggest that Governor Christie's body weight discounts and discredits his ability to be an effective political candidate is inappropriate, unjust, and wrong". Christie secretly underwent lap-band stomach surgery in February 2013 and disclosed the surgery to the New York Post in May of that year.

National role after 2012

In the aftermath of the election, Christie maintained his national profile and continued to clash with conservatives in his party by strongly criticizing House Speaker John Boehner regarding aid for Hurricane Sandy and then the National Rifle Association for their ad that mentioned President Obama's children. Christie was subsequently not invited to speak at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is largely seen as a stepping-stone for Republicans running for President. The CPAC chair explained that Christie was not invited "for decisions that he made", but that "hopefully next year he's back on the right track and being a conservative". Some political commentators view Christie as a leading contender for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016.