Did Christie Allies Close Bridge for Political Retribution?

“For as long as anyone can remember the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has worked like this: two governors divide up the board and staff appointments, and the contracts that flow from that. No one blows the whistle on anyone else, because that might jeopardize one’s own spoils,” WNYC reports.

That changed abruptly this week when one board member used his subpoena power “to summon officials to explain why three lanes onto the George Washington Bridge had been abruptly closed in September, causing a week’s worth of traffic…”

“Democrats were swift to raise the possibility the lane closures had been made as political retribution against the Mayor of Fort Lee, a Democrat, who, unlike some Democrats, had not endorsed Christie for reelection. There was a lot of whispering during Christie’s re-election campaign that he had a ‘naughty and nice list’ but no one had been able to prove it. Now, there was talk, there might be some evidence.”

Meanwhile, a new Monmouth/Asbury Park Press poll shows Christie with a 65% approval rating.