Chris Christie’s traffic jam?
Theres been a simmering controversy in New Jersey, which initially appeared a little too outlandish to take seriously. But late Friday afternoon, the story took an interesting turn.
A Port Authority official with close ties to Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is resigning after state lawmakers questioned whether lane closings on the George Washington Bridge that led to extensive traffic backups in September were politically motivated.
The official, David Wildstein, will resign as the director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Jan. 1, according to a letter he wrote to the agencys deputy executive director, Bill Baroni. The resignation was first reported by The Record newspaper, of northern New Jersey.
In Fort Lee, New Jersey, there are three lanes onto the George Washington Bridge, and in mid-September, Wildstein, a close Christie ally, closed two of them, causing several days of worse-than-usual gridlock. Local Democrats raised a question that seemed outrageous: did Christies ally cause the traffic jam on purpose to punish Fort Lees Democratic mayor, who balked at endorsing the governors re-election?
Christies office characterized the allegation as crazy, which was my initial reaction, too. The governor was already cruising to an easy win, and his administration didnt have any incentive to seek retribution against anyone. Christie may be thin-skinned at times, and his most spirited backers can be overzealous, but the underlying accusation seemed to deserve little more than eye-rolling.
That said, the editorial board of the Star-Ledger, New Jerseys largest newspaper, published a piece that called for a broader investigation. Note, for example, that Wildstein, Christies ally, said he closed the lanes as part of a traffic study that doesnt appear to exist and the Port Authoritys own traffic engineers never heard of.
How do you study traffic and block lanes without notifying police, ambulance drivers or even your own bridge employees? The official traffic study excuse strains believability.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), who chairs the transportation committee, ordered [Port Authority executive director Patrick Foye] subpoenaed. More subpoenas should follow. At a minimum, [Port Authority deputy executive director Bill Baroni] and David Wildstein, the underling who ordered the Fort Lee blockade, should be ordered to Trenton, too and told to bring documents proving the study exists.
More at: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/chris-christies-traffic-jam
Discovered on: http://theobamadiary.com/2013/12/09/rise-and-shine-692/