Christie has never been a fan of
state worker pension funds:
Quote:
Christie spoke for 35 minutes to a half-full ballroom...at a New Jersey Chamber of Commerce dinner...continu(ing)...to make his pitch for pension reform and renewal of a cap on raises for public workers, sounding alarms about the state's economic future...
"We're not going to grow out of this," Christie said after outlining the state's escalating debt and health-benefits costs. "It's time to dig in and make a few people unhappy so the greater good can be achieved...We will be judged by how we conduct ourselves in these decisions," Christie said...
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Well, if he's so interested in keeping the state's pensions in line, why is he willing to gamble them on a hedge fund that is on the edge of crapping out on a casino it invested in?
Chris Christie’s $300m pension proposal broke state anti-corruption laws
Quote:
...Weeks after Christie was re-elected...the governor’s state investment council announced its intention to invest $300 million with...Chatham Asset Management. Chatham’s principal...Anthony Melchiorre, donated $22,500 to the RNC on May 5, 2012 and then $8,300 to the RNC on August 15, 2012. Andrea Melchiorre...living at his address...also donated $17,500 to the RNC on the same day...
The decision to award Chatham Asset Management the contract was made despite State Investment Council rules explicitly banning investment managers doing business with New Jersey from making (or having made) any political contributions “for the purpose of influencing any election for State office.” Those rules bar pension contracts from going to investment managers who have made such contributions in any of the two years leading up to a proposed pension contract.
Additionally...New Jersey’s pay-to-play law prohibits using outside groups...or family members to circumvent pay-to-play statutes barring state contractors from donating to groups that financially support state election campaigns.
“If these contributions were made to the RNC in order to get around state laws, then it is a violation of the law,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington. “New Jersey law is clear: you cannot do indirectly what you are prohibited from doing directly.”
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The Christie administration's response is, well, multi-faceted:
Quote:
On behalf of Gov. Christie, (the) New Jersey Treasury('s) Chris Santarelli told Pando:...It would be a violation of the regulation if the firm or an investment professional of the firm made a political contribution "to a Federal party committee or other political committee or organization for the purpose of influencing State or local elections governed by." The purpose of the RNC is not to influence elections in the State of New Jersey and donations to the organization cannot be earmarked for a particular race.
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If that's the case,
Wire.com owes the RNC a retraction:
Quote:
That could be, in part, why the national RNC quickly made sure to mention its support for Christie's campaign in a congratulatory statement from chairman Reince Priebus: In this race Governor Christie earned significant support among minority voters. That’s a testament to the success of his results-oriented leadership and an inclusive campaign. During this race, the RNC worked alongside the Christie campaign to engage early and often with Hispanic, African American and Asian voters.
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Fortunately, Christie had
a backup defense:
Quote:
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Santarelli also insisted that despite the size of the campaign contributions in question, the Christie administration’s investment council “was not aware of the contributions you have called into question.”
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Now, about that casino: According to
The Asbury Park Press, Chatham Asset Management owns 28 percent of the "troubled" property:
Quote:
Investing in a hedge fund that is a major owner of a property that emerged from bankruptcy protection last year from nearly $1.5 billion in debt seems to be taking risk to a whole new level.
Revel, which cost $2.4 billion to build, is expected to be sold sometime this year for as little as $200 million to $300 million. It continues to have difficulty attracting customers, ranking ninth out of 11 casinos in the state...
That didn't stop Gov. Chris Christie from doing all he could to help the casino succeed, including giving it $261 million in New Jersey tax money via credits once it turned a profit - a profit that never materialized...
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Ninth out of eleven? Well, a better slogan would probably help:
*New Jersey state employees need not apply. You've already gambled your pension on Chris Christie -- and lost.
Now we know the real reason why Christie is so anti-state pension funding -- he's been pissing away our money!