Christie says race is about Corzine's tax increases, not driving records

PARAMUS - Republican gubernatorial nominee Christopher Christie today framed the final 55 days this year's election campaign as a choice between Gov. Jon Corzine's tax increases and the state's subsequent loss of jobs and Christie's starkly different view of  a New Jersey government that taxes and spends less in an effort to bring jobs back to New Jersey.

In a 43 minute address dubbed "Countdown to Change" made at the Paramus Elks Lodge, Christie repackaged the campaign themes he's sounded since declaring his candidacy: tax relief, cutting state spending, improving urban education, increasing funding for public universities and rejuvenating the state's major cities -- all while knocking Corzine for increasing taxes to the detriment of the state's business climate.  It was a new speech, but Christie had proposed most of the ideas before. 

Christie vowed to cut state spending, telling the audience that "there will be fights and there will be programs that will be cut that maybe even some of you in here would like," but he did not outline specifics about which state departments he would trim. Christie also criticized Corzine for slashing property tax rebates despite promising to increase them by 40% over his first term during his first campaign for governor.  

"He knew he couldn't do it when he said it.  He said it to get elected, and we should show him the door because of it." he said.

New Jersey's unemployment rate, Christie noted, is higher than its neighbors - despite Corzine's touted private sector job growth last month.  Businesses and residents, he said, are "voting with their feet," opting to move across the Delaware to the lower taxed Pennsylvania. 

Christie, who is trying to eat into Corzine's margins in the state's largest cities, said that  the Governor sees the state's urban areas as places "to go and get votes every four years," while he is committed to bringing their residents' quality of life to the same standards enjoyed in suburban towns like Paramus. 

A new proposal Christie did offer in the speech was to institute a system called "CityTrack," which will track crime and economic development. 

He also dropped the name of the Democratic mayor of the state's largest city - even if he's a Corzine supporter.  .

"In January, 2010 Cory Booker will have that real partner, and his name will be Chris Christie," he said. 

To improve city schools, Christie vowed increased state support for charter schools and to implement vouchers, saying that the state was currently paying "caviar money for failure" in its schools.  He also advocated merit pay for teachers, saying he would work with the Obama Administration to make it happen. 

"The president believes in it. So do I," he said.

Christie also tied the state's higher education funding to its potential economic growth, promising to increase funding to the public university system so well-educated graduates wouldn't settle in other states. 

After the speech, reporters pushed for specifics about where exactly Christie would cut state spending and how he would reduce property taxes.

Christie pointed to his Web site, where he lists "88 ways Chris Christie will fix New Jersey.  Among them is the use of a line-item veto, the appointment of a special prosecutor to review government programs for waste until voters elect an independent state auditor, and the appointment of a "taxpayer advocate." 

"There is no silver bullet solution to this problem, and I refuse to run a campaign like Jon Corzine ran four years ago and you promise the sun, the moon and the stars and you disappoint people,' he said. "Today was a day to lay out my general philosophical approach to the way [Lieutenant Governor candidate Kim Guadagno] and I will govern, to the way we will approach the problems of this state, and to also lay out the issues that I think are most important to the people of this state after having campaigned for the last eight months here."

Christie used his speech to shift gears, attempting to put talk of his driving record in the rear view mirror by giving a wide ranging speech outlining several campaign themes he wants to focus on during the campaign season's remaining 55 days.

Dogged by questions stemming from a 2005 speeding stop and a 2002 car accident over the last two weeks, Christie called the course of the race so far "trivial" and said he wanted to focus on more substantive issues as the campaign intensifies post labor day. 

"It's not about politics. It's not about the petty bickering you've seen all summer. It's not about the labels the chattering classes like to give us and it's certainly not about trivial issues which trivialize the very real problems that you, your neighbors, your friends and relatives are suffering every day," said Christie, who accused Corzine of spending millions of dollars "to distract the people of New Jersey from all the problems that we have."   

Christie's event came about two hours before Corzine's lieutenant governor running mate, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, held her own education press conference in Hackensack where she attacked Christie for his primary campaign stance against accepting stimulus funds with strings attached. 

"Christie's refusal of these critical funds is nothing more than a reckless attempt to garner favor with the extreme right wing of the Bush Republican Party," she said.   Governor Corzine has consistently stood with the children of this state while Chris Christie engages in the kind of petty politics New Jersey cannot afford."

Meanwhile, contrary to Christie's complaint, Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy said the Governor will "continue to focus on job growth and job creation for residents statewide."

"In November, the people across this state will have a very clear choice between candidates.  They'll have a choice between someone who has been working to create jobs and someone who has never created a job and has no plans to create any jobs now."

D'Arcy added that the race "has never been about christie's driving record.  It has always been about the fact that christie has one set of rules for himself and another for everyone else."