Tom Moran pens an editorial in the Star-Ledger this morning reminding us that Governor Christie's policies are just as repugnant as his political oppurtunism. In Chris Christie's willful neglect on housing: Moran, hopes and prays someone will confront Governor Christie in his town hall meeting in Mount Laurel, "because the governor has not just failed to promote affordable housing he has actively sabotaged efforts that were underway when he took office."
Mount Laurel in 1970 essentially tried to cleanse itself of working class African-Americans who had lived in town for generations by drawing a new zoning map that required big lots and made it almost impossible to build low-cost housing.
Back then Mount Laurel's mayor made no effort to hide his intentions telling an assembly at a local church:
“If you people can’t afford to live in our town, then you’ll just have to leave,” he said.
If we had read about this occurring today, in a remote part of the world, we would note the forced migrations of populations due to ethnic status is illegal under the Geneva Conventions and is called "ethnic cleansing." Fortunately, it is also illegal under U.S. law, so the NJ Supreme Court broke down those zoning barriers, and provided incentive programs for "builders to construct low-cost housing," in a series of ruling known as the Mount Laurel decisions. As a result over 60,000 new low cost homes have been built in New Jersey in he following 30 years.
Moran says Christie "hates these rulings," and has adopted a strategy of "slow-walking" the court's demands.
His Council on Affordable Housing has not met regularly since 2010, and has ignored repeated court rulings. A furious Appellate Division panel recently threatened to jail its members if this defiance continues, a ruling that is now headed to the state Supreme Court.
Christie tried to dissolve COAH by executive order, but because it was created by the Legislature, the state Supreme Court ruled that he could not do so. He also tried to grab roughly $160 million that towns had set aside to subsidize affordable housing, and use it to balance his budget. Again, the court stopped him.
Moran hopes one of the families in Christie's Mount Laurel town meeting today, who has benefited from he court decisions to promote affordable housing, will ask Christie why he is trying to obstruct it. Moran also asks, if Christie doesn't like this court program to promote affordable housing in New Jersey, what is Christie's alternative proposal?
Last night, in Chris Christie gave cronies 9/11 goodie bags containing salvage from WTC (Warning: Disturbing Pix) I declared that Racheal Maddow had identified what would probably be the lowest possible point in Governor Christie descent as a human being, as she revealed he has been giving away "9/11 political goodwill bags" with pieces of the Twin Towers salvage to political targets he is trying to woo.
How poignant that I am proven wrong, as just 10 hours later we discover him putting his name behind undermining New Jersey Supreme Court laws designed to prevent communities like Mount Laurel from "cleansing themselves" of their ethnic and poor minorities. In his ongoing game of political limbo, Governor Christie keeps amazing us in his game of "how low can he go?"
I've already asked, seriously, Christie, WTH, but the idea we could shame Governor Christie is remote, as it appears he has no conscience. Perhaps, it is time we ask, seriously, New Jersey, WTH? What would it take for you all to demand this repugnant Governor resign?