Sneak Peek At Christie's 'State Of The State'

Here's a sneak peek at what Governor Chris Christie will say this afternoon in Trenton as he delivers his State of the State address:

·        Governor Christie Will Detail A Record Of Getting Things Done In New Jersey.  Gov Christie took office in 2010 and just completed his fifth full year in office – chalking up half a decade of effective governing, priority setting, and fights with a Democrat-controlled legislature that have still resulted in far-reaching reforms where New Jersey needed it most (highlights here and a full run down in the doc below):

o   Holding Discretionary Spending Below 2008 Levels
o   Sweeping Pension And Benefits Reform will provide savings to New Jersey taxpayers of over $122 billion over the next 30 years.
o   Lowest Unemployment Rate Since October 2008: Dropped to 6.4 percent, the lowest it has been since October 2008. The unemployment rate has dropped 3.3 points from a recessionary peak of 9.7 in January 2010.
o   Historic Bipartisan Changes To The Nation’s Oldest Tenure Law
o   Working With Teachers To Bring Performance-Based Pay To Newark Schools
o   The Most Education Funding In State History: For four years in a row, Governor Christie has set new historic highs for State spending for education. Total direct State aid to schools in Fiscal Year 2015 is over $11.9 billion.
o   Common-Sense Bail Reform To Bring Fairness For Non-Violent Offenders
o   Fundamental Reforms To Prioritize Drug Treatment Over Incarceration.  Governor Christie signed a historic drug court expansion into law, mandating drug treatment for addicted nonviolent offenders, and has championed a new approach to end the stigma around treatment, prevention, and successful reentry efforts.
o   Working Across Party Lines To Renew The City Of Camden.  Working in close partnership with local leaders, the Christie Administration has helped spark a turnaround in a city that was in deep distress just five years ago, including: sharp reductions in crime, significant economic development and job creation, and reinvigorated school district leadership to deliver education opportunities.

·        With The Eyes Of A Wider Audience On The Speech, It Will Also Be A Reminder Of How Much Sweeping Reform Has Been Accomplished By A Republican Governor In A Blue State With A Democratic Legislature. 

·        Remembering Where We Came From.  Just as importantly, the Governor will tell the story of just how bad things were when we got here and how far we’ve come.  Keep in mind that…

o   When Governor Christie took office, he immediately inherited a $2.2 billion mid-year budget shortfall, and had to address an additional $11 billion structural deficit just six months later. 
o   Trenton had increased taxes and fees 115 times in the eight years before Governor Christie took office.
o   In the two years before Governor Christie took office, New Jersey lost nearly 240,000 private-sector jobs.
o   In that same period, New Jersey’s unemployment rate more than doubled from 4.6 percent to 9.7 percent.

·        New Agenda Items For Where We Are Going.  Finally, the speech will serve its traditional role a springboard for detailing reform priorities for the coming legislative session.  You can expect to see forward-looking proposals that build on the hard won progress of the last five years.