Christie's strategy: Divide Democrats

Gov. Christie, a polarizing figure, made a divide-and-conquer play when he set up conflicts between Democrats and their union supporters in his budget message this week.

While Democrats were impressed with the Republican governor's tactical skills, they were quick to point out that they knew what he was up to: pitting groups against one another to try to get his $29.4 billion budget passed.

"This is still a Democratic state. You have to divide to be successful, so a lot of this is political," said Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D., Union).

The governor has to persuade a Democratic-controlled Legislature to pass his budget, which calls for several actions that some Democrats may resist. The budget would cut business and inheritance taxes. It also would cut Medicaid costs and state spending across the board, most severely in agencies that police the environment and public health.

Christie has especially targeted public worker health care and pensions, saying: "The cost of the pension and health care are destroying the state's economy."

To that, Hetty Rosenstein, head of the state's largest public employee union, said: "The fact that somebody who lives in a $2.2 million house just accused unions, which created the middle class, of trying to break the middle class is Orwellian."

On pensions, Christie set up a clear conflict between unions and Democrats by telling them he would make a mandated contribution to the pension fund earlier than required if Democrats agreed to his restructuring proposals. They include having employees contribute more to the funds and raising the retirement age.

And Christie wound up senior citizens and the working class by telling them they would get property-tax subsidies - but only if the Legislature made public workers pay more for their health care.

"One issue should not be held hostage by the other," said Christopher Donnelly, a spokesman for Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

"The Democrats are going to be in tough spots," said Mike DuHaime, the governor's political consultant. They must choose to "oppose for opposition's sake or potentially work with the governor to help him push through these reforms, which are essentially broadly popular."

DuHaime said the public understands that "for us to get spending and taxes under control, there has to be some changes to pension and benefit packages."

There have been no formal talks between the Christie administration and unions representing 70,000 state workers on contracts that expire in June. But the governor's words Tuesday made it across the table.

"The real question is whether or not the governor ever sincerely, realistically comes to the table, or whether the Legislature does his dirty work for him and takes away our collective-bargaining rights by legislating the terms of conditions of employment," said Rosenstein, state director of the Communications Workers of America.

Union leaders, Democrats, and the governor agree that the benefit funds are in trouble. They disagree over who gets damaged the most in the budget negotiations: the unions or the politicians.

While unions are being pressured to pay more for their benefits, Christie and Sweeney also have difficult political paths to walk in budget negotiations.

A recent Monmouth University poll showed that voters would blame Christie if their property taxes went up. The poll of 801 residents, conducted between Feb. 2 and 7, also found that Christie "generates intense opinions from most of his constituents," said polling director Patrick Murray.

"He's a polarizing figure because he's come in and changed the way Trenton works," Murray said. "That will shake things up and get a lot of people on his side, and will also scare a lot of people away and make them strongly dislike him."

This fall, Sweeney must seek reelection in his home county of Gloucester, which has been swinging Republican the last two election cycles.

Christie tried to link their fortunes together when he mentioned that Sweeney had launched his own proposals on employee pensions and health care. Many in the political community noted that it was no coincidence that Christie's first town hall meeting after the budget address happens Thursday on Sweeney's turf in West Deptford.