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Originally Posted by rocknation
As press secretary, (Michael) Drewniak was in charge of telling the public what Christie wanted the public to be told. It stands to reason that what he knew, Christie either knew also or should have. Yet, like David Samson, Drewniak has been able to hold on to his position despite such blatant incompetence and unprofessionalism while some of his colleagues got canned. |
We last heard from Drewniak when he accused the child welfare workers union of playing politics when a counselor got stabbed just days after Christie budget cuts removed the security squads from their offices. No words of sympathy for the victim though. Aside from that, he's been keeping a lower profile in favor of fellow Christie spokesperson Kevin Roberts -- until now:
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NJ LawJournal.com: A New Jersey judge...ordered Republican Gov. Chris Christie to work with the Democrat-controlled state Legislature to find a way to replace $1.57 billion in pension funds that Christie diverted to balance the state's 2014 fiscal year budget.
Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson, in a 130-page ruling in Burgos v. New Jersey, said the administration violated the contractual rights of hundreds of thousands of current and retired public sector workers by line-item vetoing the pension payment out of the budget. Jacobson said Christie's decision "constitutes a facial violation of the funding requirements of the public pension statute." (She) denied the state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and granted the unions' request for relief...
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, said..."Once again liberal judicial activism rears its head with the court trying to replace its own judgment for the judgment of the people who were elected to make these decisions...The governor will continue to work on a practical solution to New Jersey's pension and health benefits problems while he appeals this decision to a higher court..."
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It would be an understatement to say that a big piece of Christie's presidential hopes are lying on selling his treasury looting -- I mean, pension reform -- policies. So if the going gets tough, it makes perfect sense to take off the kid gloves and unleash your lead attack dog. Well, I think Drewniak took a bigger bite out of Judge Jacobson than he could chew:
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NJ.com: No stranger to...the governor's ire, state Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson...ruled (that) Gov. Chris Christie violated public employee unions' constitutional rights by failing to make a promised $1.57 billion pension payment...
Here's a quick look at one of the most influential judges in the state:...In 2013 (she) rebuked Gov. Chris Christie and declared same-sex marriage legal in the state...
Jacobson...quashed two subpoenas issued to former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly and two-time campaign manager Bill Stepien as part of its investigation into the 2013 lane closings at the George Washington Bridge...
...Appointed in 2001 by former (New Jersey) Gov. Christie Whitman; earned tenure in 2008...
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She ruled in Christie's favor in a Bridge(t)-Gate case? Doesn't sound like a knee-jerk partisan stooge to me. But while Jacobson is a Democrat, Christie Whitman is a Republican -- and if there's anything Republicans hate more than being publicly badmouthed by Democrats, it's being publicly badmouthed by other Republicans.
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NJ.com: Gov. Chris Christie's longtime spokesman Michael Drewniak is leaving Christie's office...Drewniak('s) often blustery and combative statements mirrored the governor's...He left the...Star-Ledger (newspaper)...to work at the U.S. Attorney's office in 1998...was kept on by Christie when he became U.S. Attorney in 2002...(and)...joined Christie's administration as soon as he was sworn in...
Wall Street Journal Metropolis.com: ...People who had spoken with him said he was increasingly tired of day-to-day battles with reporters after months of fallout from the George Washington Bridge scandal...Mr. Drewniak...has said he was not interested in working on a presidential campaign.
The spokesman...had appeared to lower the volume since profane emails he sent about officials and reporters emerged in the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge Scandal..In recent months, much of his work had been transferred to Kevin Roberts...who is expected to replace Mr. Drewniak...
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He's tired? Well, why didn't he quit late last year, which would have given Roberts time to transition into taking the lead on helping sell Christie's 2016 agendas -- because he
didn't have another job lined up? Does he look at Christie's presidential bid as a lost cause, or was he simply not invited? Or maybe it was strictly a public relations move: now that he's officially running for president, maybe Christie has been advised that one short-tempered obnoxious loudmouth per campaign is enough...