HOBOKEN — In the wake of the George Washington Bridge controversy, several Democratic mayors are speaking out saying they, too, believe they were punished by the Christie administration for failing to endorse the Republican governor’s re-election in November, WNYC reports.
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said that after Hurricane Sandy, she applied to the state for a Hazard Mitigation Grant. In the spring, when Christie asked her to endorse him for re-election during a face-to-face meeting, Zimmer told the governor no.
“He was quite disappointed, but I wouldn’t say that he was angry,” she told WNYC.
When her request for grant funding came back, she said, Hoboken received $300,000 of the $100 million in grants requested — less than 1 percent.
“With 20/20 hindsight, in the context we’re in right now, we can always look back and say, ‘Okay, was it retribution?'” Zimmer told the station. “I think probably all mayors are reflecting right now and thinking about it, but I really hope that’s not the case.”
Meanwhile Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has said Christie’s office apparently canceled several meetings the day after Fulop refused to endorse the governor.
In Elizabeth, Mayor Chris Bollwage claims Christie targeted the city and shut down the Division of Motor Vehicle’s office there after its state legislators fought Christie on several pieces of legislation.
“The governor’s retribution was to close down the Division of Motor vehicles here in the city of Elizabeth, which is the fourth largest city in the state of New Jersey,” Bollwage said in the report.
