By Michael Aron
Chief Political Correspondent
“The state of our state continues to get better. New Jersey is better off than it was last year, and it is certainly far better off than it was just five years ago,” said Gov. Chris Christie during his State of the State address.
Christie offered a vigorous defense of his stewardship of the state.
Unemployment down from 9.7 percent to 6.4 percent.
Property taxes under control.
Politics watchers were waiting to hear what he’d say that might have national implications.
“We are a nation beset by anxiety. It is understandable. Economic growth is low by post war recovery standards. America’s leadership in the world is called into question because of a pattern of indecision and inconsistency,” said the governor.
He said he heard it best from an elderly woman in Florida on a rope line.
“And she said, ‘Governor I’m 82 years old and I have a question for you.’ And I said, yes ma’am. And she said, ‘What’s happened to our country? We used to control events. Now events control us,'” Christie relayed.
His prescription?
“We need to address this anxiety head on. We need to renew the spirit and the hopes of our state, our country and our people,” said Christie.
He said he was renewing his commitment to New Jersey.
“So that when we stand here in one year — by the way, I’ll be standing here in one year,” he said to applause.
A portion of the speech was devoted to drug addiction and Christie’s belief that those arrested on drug offenses should go to treatment not to jail.
“Requiring mandatory treatment instead of prison for non-violent drug offenders is only one step, but it is an important one. Treatment is the path to saving lives,” he said.
Fiscal discipline was another theme.
The governor vowed to veto any income tax hike and called for lower taxes, so that companies like Mercedes stop pulling out of the state.
“I urge the Legislature today to open your eyes and your ears to the lessons of Mercedes’s departure. Let’s act now to lower taxes and to prevent another such departure and the employment displacement that it leads to middle class families in this state,” Christie said.
He bemoaned the state of the pension system without offering any specific proposal.
And saved his strong rhetoric for the end, when he hailed the turnaround he has been part of in the city of Camden.
“I’m a Republican. She’s a Democrat. And it has not mattered for one minute and I make this offer to every major city mayor in New Jersey. If you’re willing to put down the sword of partisan politics, I will extend my hand in partnership and we will rebuild your cities the way we’re rebuilding Camden,” said Christie.