N.J. Democrats accuse Christie of using Sandy to ignore state's economic troubles

On the eve of Gov. Chris Christie’s State of the State address, Senate Democratic leaders accused him of using Hurricane Sandy to gloss over the state’s pre-existing economic troubles.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney went as far as to say Christie "prayed a lot and got lucky" that a storm came before immediately apologizing for the remark.

“I think he’s conveniently using it to ignore these other problems. I think the governor did a very good job communicating and handling the storm,” said Sweeney (D-gloucester) at a press conference this afternoon. “But these issues are still here and they can’t be ignored.”

Sweeney, who was joined by Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex) said he expects Christie in his address to “try to convince everyone the sun is shining when it’s raining.” He seized on Christie’s remarks last week that Sandy “erased the blackboard” on prioritizing the issues facing New Jersey.


http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/nj_democrats_accuse_christie_o.html#incart_more_business