Three Statehouse sources report that Gov. Chris Christie was steamed Wednesday when he learned of a press release issued by State Republican Committee Chairman Jay Webber.
Reproduced on PolitickerNJ.com, the Webber letter to State Democratic Chairman John Wisniewski affirms the Democrat-GOP agreement of a budget for redistricting.
“I am pleased that we finally have an agreement on the initial budget for the Apportionment Commission,” Webber wrote to Wisniewski. “I look forward to our initial organizational meeting so that we can adopt the budget formally, and I am confident that we will schedule that shortly.”
But throughout a turbulent – even rancorous – early redistricting process, Wisniewski had not agreed to the conditions of a budget, say sources, and he and/or state Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) promptly made their agitation known to the governor.
Then a disgruntled Christie got back to Webber.
Again, sources say it wasn’t an overriding factor in breaking apart two outsized political egos.
But multiple insiders today talked about Webber’s presumptive successor – Saddle River Mayor Sam Raia – being primed as a Bergen County-based fundraiser, not an overriding Webber talent.
Other sources said Webber on at least one occcasion voiced frustration over the lack of transparency in Reform Jersey Now, a privately operated fundraising arm set up by Christie’s allies.
Following the flap over the letter, Webber issued a resignation statement, prompting buzz overload that the governor dropped the hammer. Sources close to the governor say there was no firing. One administration source told PolitickerNJ.com that the resignation was planned before Webber sent the letter and produced an email from earlier in the day showing the scheduling of the call.
Christie himself denied any friction between the two during a press conference Thursday, saying simply that Webber had “too much to do” to continue on as state chairman. Christie said Webber’s decision to resign was made after a conversation between the two men.
The same original three sources say it wasn’t one incident that flared up and irked Christie enough to deal out Webber, or that he even did. But there were several incidents; and at least two of those sources resorted to the “straw that broke the camel’s back” analogy in terms of relations between Christie and Webber.
Sources close to the former GOP chairman say they were frustrated by the front office more than a few times and felt somewhat the chilling rustle of Christie’s cape as the governor toured the country but failed to command a ginned up fundraising effort at home on behalf of the state party.
Although both sides deny there is any personal rift and point out that they mutually decided Webber was overly saddled with duties, there is a troubled history between Webber and Christie forces that goes back to when chief Christie confidante Bill Palatucci ran state Sen. Bob Martin’s 2003 re-election campaign.
Webber was the upstart challenger and, sources say, the Martin campaign went ugly early in what turned into a terrible free-for-all and lingering bad feelings that Christie blunted when he named Webber state party chairman in 2009.
