HADDONFIELD – Gov. Chris Christie at his town hall here addressed an issue that he indicated probably puzzles some people: How and why he gets along with Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney.
In response to a question from someone in the audience of approximately 750 people, Christie said of Sweeney, “He takes a lot of heat from people in his party that he shouldn’t be cooperating with me.” And the same, Christie said, is true of people in the Republican Party who do not want him cooperating with Sweeney.
But he said that neither one has the luxury of non-cooperation.
Christie said that on the way down to this town hall, “I was on the phone with Steve talking about issues that we’re trying to get resolved in the next 19 days,’’ before the fiscal year ends and issues of tax cuts and a balanced budget have to be resolved.
They don’t always agree, with one example being the Democrats’ recent rejection of his two Supreme Court nominees, Christie said.
But Sweeney has a shared services bill working its way through committee, and that is an issue on which they agree, Christie told the audience.
“I trust Steve to tell me the truth,’’ Christie said. He said they made an agreement at the beginning of their terms they always would tell each other the truth about how they feel about issues.
“We’re moving the ball down the field for people in this state,’’ Christie said.
