Christie Intervenes In Battle Among Democrats Over New N.J. Casinos
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie has thrown his support behind Senate president Stephen Sweeney's plan for a referendum on expanding casinos to northern New Jersey.
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, the fact that a political battle has ensued about casino expansion might not be surprising. But in this case, the Republican governor decided to intervene between two combatants who are Democrats.
Montclair State University political science and law professor Brigid Harrison said Sweeney (D-West Deptford), who represents South Jersey, wants to be governor.
"It appears that North Jersey is kind of solidifying around a different gubernatorial candidate for 2017," Harrison said.
That potential candidate is Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. He is backed by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Secaucus), who wants an open competition for potential North Jersey casino owners.
Sweeney thinks current Atlantic City casino owners should get first crack.
Christie came down on Sweeney's side, supporting the senate president's contention that the Assembly bill lacks enough support to pass.
Christie says the only alternative is to ``put the ball in the end zone'' and pass Sweeney's bill.
The Senate and Assembly also bills differ on who could own the two new casinos, and how much of their gambling tax revenue would go to compensate Atlantic City.
Christie agreed with Sweeney, who said earlier Friday that failure to pass a bill Monday would kill the possibility of northern New Jersey casinos.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
