Gov. Chris Christie Makes Campaign Appearance In Bayonne - Snubs Mayor Smith
My Wife Ann with Gov. Christie - 27 Sep 2013
As a business leader in my town I was invited to attend a meet-and-greet with Governor Christie this morning at the Big Apple Lounge & Restaurant in Bayonne, N.J., arguably one of the most Democratic cities in the country. The Governor told the crowd that he was coming into towns like ours to show that he was a governor for all the citizens in New Jersey, not just for Republicans.
It would have been wise for local Democrat politicians to have worn safety goggles this morning: Gov. Chris Christie stuck his thumb into the eye of the Mayor and City Council by not informing them that he was coming into town (1).
Some of my readers may recall my article from July 2010: Marijuana the Safest Drug in the World where I criticized Governor Christie for delaying implementation of New Jersey's Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act:
I was disappointed to read that my state lawmakers voted on Monday in favor of legislation to delay until October 2010 the implementation of the New Jersey Compassionate Medical Marijuana Act which was to go into effect later this week.
Since it will take almost half a year to establish regulations for licensed production and distribution of medical cannabis, this means that New Jersey's Department of Health won't be in full operation until some time in 2011.
Although I voted for Chris Christie, I disagree with him here; he requested the postponement so that lawmakers could consider amending the law by limiting the production of medical cannabis to a single supply source, Rutgers University, and by restricting the drug’s distribution to authorized hospitals.
Sadly, New Jersey's medical marijuana law is an utter and complete failure (2).
I will vote for Governor Christie again but if a lying, cheating, drunk, antisemitic convicted murderer were to run for governor whose only platform was to allow a sane state policy for medical marijuana, I would instead vote for him. As I have written previously, our War on Drugs is the most costly and miserable failure in our country's history, even more pathetically futile than Prohibition.
ENDNOTES
(1):
Politicker NJ, 27 Sept 2013, Christie's latest meet and greet goes to the heart of lingering Hudson Dem Party angst
Gov. Chris Christie’s scheduled campaign appearance in Bayonne this morning has local politicos unavoidably absorbing the impact of a brash slap by the governor at a political alliance between local leadership and Christie’s opponent in the governor’s race.
A maritime blue collar jam up of pizza parlors and diners at the southern end of the Hudson County Peninsula, Bayonne is also the home of local Mayor Mark Smith.
... Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli and Harrison Mayor Ray McDonough, are staunch public backers of the governor’s.
Smith backs Christie’s opponent, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18).
He’s one of the few standing ardent Buono supporters.
So Christie plans to make pit stops at some of Smith’s favorite haunts, including the Big Apple, a sports bar owned and operated by a Bayonne fireman and a clutch of other staples, a famed pizza joint among them.
Christie never notified Smith.
He’s simply dropping into town, at the head of a caravan heavy on psychological warfare optics.
The mayor found out from the owner that the governor would be there this morning.
Christie's polling well in Bayonne, better than expected – and that from sources in Hudson and out of Hudson.
“He’s probably polling well in North Bergen,” a source groaned to PolitickerNJ.com from the northern reaches of the county, feeling the concussion of Christie landing in Bayonne on the other end of Democratic territory voraciously sought by this incumbent Republican.
There's an added thumb in the eye of Team Smith by Christie.
...
Christie's appearance in Bayonne - and he's done several of them, including town halls and press appearances at the Bayonne Bridge - pushes the battle to the heart of a last standing clutch of Buono allies, Smith and O'Donnell at the center of them.
(2):
Philly.com, 22 Aug 2013, N.J.'s failed medical marijuana law
New Jersey’s medical marijuana program is a failed experiment but one that Delaware and other states seem enthusiastic to repeat. The reality is that after years of delays and harsh over-regulation, NJ residents with serious illnesses and even state-issued marijuana ID cards continue to be arrested. Limited or no access is the issue.
Governor Chris Christie played doctor again last week making political spin out of therapeutic cannabis and the healthcare of one desperately ill child. Claiming to make changes passed by the Legislature to the NJ Medicinal Marijuana Program (NJ MMP) what Christie has eventually allowed will make little tangible difference for patients.
Right now the program is bogged down by a multiplicity of regulations that are micro-managed and almost hand-crafted by Christie and his counsel Kevin O’Dowd (whose wife Mary O’Dowd also happens to be the current Commissioner of the NJ Department of Health). Since 2010 they have consistently thrown science out the door, shut out the input of patients and relied almost exclusively on law enforcement consultants.
...
The rest of the country may think the Garden State has gone green for marijuana, but for residents here who thought they would have convenient access to cannabis, nothing has changed; prohibition remains.
Joseph D‘Souza, a 54-year-old cancer and chemotherapy patient was surrounded by eight police cars in Bayonne last April, then searched by a dog. Joe was arrested for having a few grams of pot and a pipe. He’s one of New Jersey’s approximately 1,000 registered patients. Although D’Souza has an ID card he was never able to obtain legal marijuana from the state’s single sometimes operating dispensary. Caught with underground cannabis he had no legal protections. Police simply ignored his ID card. Joe’s case was eventually settled with fines.
GreenLeaf Compassion Center in Montclair, NJ had a much ballyhooed grand opening in late 2012 but they had problems almost immediately. Charging patients high-grade street prices along with a special tax they failed to serve the entire patient population. Instead of trying for better access Greenleaf scaled back, opening sometimes just one day every two weeks to a handful of patients. After closing down completely for two months Greenleaf is now making appointments to patients only in their immediate vicinity. That move was a surprise to the NJ Department of Health. No other Alternative Treatment Centers are open even part-time.
