COPYRIGHT © The Times of Trenton 2009
Date: 2009/06/19 Friday Page: A03 Section: NEWS Edition: FINAL
By MICHELE ANGERMILLER
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
EWING — Gubernatorial Republican candidate Chris Christie launched his campaign with tough talk at a Spring Gala Reception held by the Capital Republican Club at the Trenton Country Club last night.
"There are going to be people during the campaign that are going to say `New Jersey is a blue state and a Democratic State,'" he told a receptive audience in a speech. "But if you look at the last 15 polls taken since I announced my candidacy, I have beaten Jon Corzine in every one."
Christie made a reference to this week's encounter with the Democratic governor at a New Jersey Business and Industry Association dinner in West Windsor, where it was suggested the governor was "afraid" to walk in with Christie. The governor made it a point to tell Christie, "I'm not afraid of you."
"I think we got Jon Corzine thinking," he said.
Christie outlined his plan for running the state, which he asserts has become a very expensive place to live and start a business. Christie's plan involves cutting spending, income taxes, corporate taxes, and rolling back regulation.
"Our first job is to cut income taxes across the board for everyone in New Jersey and small businesses," he said. "Raising taxes in a down economy is the wrong thing to do."
Christie galvanized the crowd, which included Freeholder candidates Joe D'Angelo, Russell Wojtenko and Cindy Randazzo and former Senator Peter A. Inverso, with talk of how New Jersey was strong during recessions in the `80s and `90s when former Governors Tom Kean and Christine Todd Whitman were in office.
"During the `80s, New Jersey added 400,000 new jobs in the private sector. In the `90s, there were 450,000. Under (Governor James) McGreevey and Corzine, there are less jobs than there were in December 2000. That hasn't happened in New Jersey since the 1930s," he said.
Christie also answered criticisms that he may be too inexperienced to handle the job of governor, citing that people felt he was too green for the job as a United States attorney. Christie said people at the time felt his background in politics meant he wouldn't prosecute his friends. He reminded the crowd of his record of sending both Democrats and Republicans to prison.
"There are 130 people or so in jail, or just out of jail, or getting ready to go to jail, who know differently," he said .
He also said that he is willing to take on the job of governor, and is not afraid of the "hard" work Corzine keeps alluding to.
"Nobody put a gun to his head and asked him to spend $110 million of his own money to run for the job," he said.
The mood in the room was jovial as a revitalized party talked of victory in November.
"There is an extraordinary amount of energy," said Senate Minority Leader Thomas H. Kean, Jr. "People are excited and talking about changing the state and making it more affordable."
In answering the governor's criticism about not seeing a plan for balancing the budget, Kean countered that Republicans offered a plan to cut 5 billion, but were ignored.
"He disagreed with the cuts year after year," he said. "Just last week when we scrubbed the budget, we found money for dead people researching plants in space, and he wants to talk about credibility and fiscal responsibility. That's just the tip of the iceberg."
Kim Taylor, who is running for the New Jersey State Assembly in the 15th Legislative District, said Christie's win has increased excitement for the Republican ticket.
