Thursday, May 6, 2010
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER

Governor Christie's suggestion that he had a legal opinion exempting the Xanadu project from Sunday closing laws wasn't true, Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney said Wednesday.

McNerney's office said it filed a public-records request for the opinion and had received a terse reply: "This office does not have any records responsive to your request," it read.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
The Record
STAFF WRITER

Bergen County residents blasted Governor Christie's budget Tuesday night at a forum at Bergen County Academies in Hackensack convened by several Democratic state legislators.

More than 80 people attended the forum to discuss the budget, which is being reviewed by the state Senate.

Carolee Adams of Carlstadt criticized the governor for education and municipal aid cuts that will hurt Bergen County more than any other county in the state.

"Governor Christie has talked about shared sacrifice," Adams said. "We have sacrificed more here in Bergen County than anyone else."

State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, acknowledged that the state has serious budget issues, but said Christie's cuts go too far and will hurt taxpayers in the long haul.

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney today sent a letter to Governor Chris Christie, asking for a copy of the Governor's legal opinion he received that would allow Sunday shopping at Xanadu.
In a March 19 Bergen Record news story, Christie told the Record's editorial board that he received a legal opinion that, "there already is going to be shopping in Bergen County on Sundays at Xanadu, if and when Xanadu actually opens."

McNerney said he would like to review a copy of the Governor's legal opinion.

"The Governor's comments about Xanadu and the Blue Laws fly in the face of everything I have ever heard or read about the project," McNerney told BergenNOW. "I would like to read a copy of the legal opinion that the Governor received and share the information with my colleagues and constituents."

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Governor Christie says his budget plan steers New Jersey back on the road of fiscal balance.

But some Bergen Republicans peering down a more narrow path — the campaign trail — are worried that Christie's $29.3 billion budget will send them sputtering toward another year of political oblivion.

Did someone forget to tell Christie that the county executive and freeholder races this fall will be viewed, fairly or not, as a stamp of approval or rejection of his first year of office?

Sure, budget cuts are going to be a tough sell and necessary in righting the listing ship of state, but some are asking if he hasn't gone a little too far. The embattled Bergen Democrats once viewed Christie, the former federal prosecutor, as their worst nightmare. As governor, he's become their chief morale booster.

Here are a few proposals that threaten to roil the Republican ranks.