Gov. Christie not serving the state’s interests

Rather than carrying out his responsibilities to serve the interests of the people of New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie has been focused on using the powers of his office over the past few years simply to promote himself as a presidential candidate.

The governor’s actions have been carefully orchestrated to please big campaign donors, the energy industry in particular, which has become a major donor to Gov. Christie and to the Republican Governors Association when he was chairman. An example of this is his proposed settlement of the Bayway refinery contamination case that is so generous to Exxon-Mobil, again a major donor.

The other motivation for his actions seems to be playing to the nationwide GOP base. Recall the absurd situation when he went so far as to veto legislation for humane treatment of pigs, an unpopular kind of bill in the Midwest, particularly Iowa, which of course is the expected site of the first GOP caucus.

And if the governor wants to spend so much time traveling the country pandering to voters instead of attending to New Jersey’s affairs, I say he should not be allowed to remain governor.

Gov. Christie’s actions may be extreme, but he is by no means alone. These are among the many blatant examples of how candidates today exploit our flawed election system to promote their self-interests rather than working for the public good.

We need to completely revamp this system beginning with campaign finance reform to remove the big money influence and restore democracy.

Tony Giordano
Howell