Ok... I'm Gonna Throw Up... 'New Jersey Democrats Who Endorsed Christie Stand By Their Man' [View all]

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New Jersey Democrats Who Endorsed Christie Stand By Their Man
“I believe him, I still support him,” says the mayor of Chesilhurst Borough. “I’d endorse Christie again,” says the mayor of Harrison, N.J.
Evan McMorris-Santoro - BuzzFeed Staff
posted on January 9, 2014 at 1:31pm EST


New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Chesilhurst, N.J., Mayor Michael Blunt Via njtvonline.org

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WASHINGTON — Democratic New Jersey mayors who bucked their party to support Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s reelection bid last year are denying their endorsements were coerced and defending Christie against critics in the wake of revelations over the George Washington Bridge lane closures.

“I still stand with Gov. Christie. You can hire people, you have good intentions and you think highly of these people, and people get fired every day,” said Michael Blunt, the Democratic mayor of Chesilhurst, N.J. “It’s not just Gov. Christie, any organization or business where you’re hiring people, people get fired because they do things they’re not supposed to do. So I believe him in what he said about what happened. I still support him.”

Blunt said he faced no political pressure to back Christie and said he never heard of Christie’s team applying pressure to others.

“My endorsement is based on the things that he’s done for my community and how he’s handled himself in the state of New Jersey,” he said. “There was no coercion,” he added.

The Christie campaign touted the backing of Democratic mayors and other officials to burnish the Republican incumbent’s bipartisan credibility ahead of an expected 2016 run for the White House. So far there’s no sign he’ll lose that Democratic mayoral support as he struggles to get his second term on track after firing some of his closest aides in reaction to what Democrats are calling Bridgegate.

“I can assure you I did not feel pressured at all,” Palmyra Mayor Karen Scheffler told the AP Wednesday. Scheffler did not immediately respond to questions left on her cellphone voicemail Thursday.

Other Democratic mayors are also sticking with Christie...

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More: http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/democratic-mayors-who-endorsed-christie-stand-by-their-man