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Over the weekend, Hoboken, NJ Mayor Dawn Zimmer met with the U.S. Attorney and informed them that the Christie administration withheld Sandy recovery aid to her city for political retribution. According to Zimmer, Christie was angry that her city did not give approval to a major redevelopment project promoted by David Samson, who Christie appointed as board chairman at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the George Washington Bridge.
Zimmer said Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable III told her she would have to go along with the private development project the governor wanted in order for her city to receive Superstorm Sandy relief money. When she didn’t comply, Zimmer says relief aid was withheld.
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“This afternoon I met with the U.S. Attorney’s office for several hours at their request and provided them with my journal and other documents,” Zimmer said in a statement. “As they pursue this investigation, I will provide any requested information and testify under oath about the facts of what happened.”
In addition to the lengthy public apology Christie issued for the lane closures and the traffic jams it caused for 4 days, his office has emphatically denied Zimmer’s story, saying her claim “is categorically false.” However, despite Christie’s claims that he knew nothing of “Bridgegate” and that he never withheld Sandy relief funds, perception is not favoring the governor. Christie is frequently seen as a bully, which is a trait most New Jersey voters had come to appreciate from him. However, his connection to these 2 very explosive political issues could be backfiring on him at precisely the wrong time, since Christie is widely seen as a viable candidate for president in 2016.
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Assemblyman John Wisniewski is currently leading the lane closure investigation. In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Wisniewski said his committee will “look at the facts, hear her [Zimmer’s] story, look at the e-mails and consider where we go next.
“Clearly the allegation that she was asked to support a redevelopment project where there was funding from the Port Authority, which we’re investigating, in turn for her getting money for her municipality, raises serious allegations,” Wisniewski said. “We don’t know where it goes. We don’t know if there’s more to it. I think it’s something the committee has to consider as part of the overall investigation.”
Zimmer, a Democrat, has remained steadfast in the media with her allegations, saying the quid pro quo offer from the high-ranking administration officials was “a direct message from the governor.”
“It’s stunning. It’s outrageous. But it’s true,” she told CNN on Sunday. “I probably should have come forward sooner, but I really didn’t think anyone would believe me.”
