For Christie's announcement, a reluctant host

Gov. Christie is set to announce his presidential candidacy Tuesday at the high school he attended, a venue that will enable him to feature his roots and upbringing.

The Livingston School District's interim superintendent, however, isn't embracing the role as host.

"I don't think it's any secret that most of my political and educational views are about 180 degrees from the governor's," Jim O'Neill said Monday.

A critic of the Republican governor's policies on charter schools and the state's management of school districts under its control, among other issues, O'Neill doesn't plan to attend the announcement.

"I'll watch it on the news later, like most people," he said.

But O'Neill, a former high school teacher and principal who became interim superintendent last year, said the school has an "obligation" to host Christie's event, in deference to the hometown governor.

Others don't see it the same way. "I'm getting all kinds of hate e-mails . . . from teachers, retired teachers, and other public employees," O'Neill said.

Some foes are planning to protest at the event.

"As of right now, we're approaching 1,000 people showing up tomorrow morning," said Anthony Rosamilia, president of the Essex County Education Association and a teacher at Livingston High School.

In the school's gymnasium, Christie will speak to a ticketed audience, including party officials, other supporters, and his family and friends.

Rosamilia said teachers, angered in part by Christie's crusade for changes to the public pension system - "All this guy's done since day one is denigrate hardworking teachers" - saw the choice of a school as the announcement site as a "slap in the face."

A spokeswoman for Christie's political action committee did not respond Monday to a request for comment on the planned protest.

Bill Palatucci, a longtime adviser to Christie, declined to comment on opposition to the event. "All I can say is that it will be exciting," he said, calling it "a thrill to see an actual campaign take shape."

The run-up to Christie's announcement - news of which broke Thursday, though the governor didn't confirm it last week - included the launch over the weekend of a campaign website, chrischristie.com.

The website features what apparently is the Christie 2016 slogan - "Telling It Like It Is" - and a two-minute video of Christie telling the story of his mother's death, a staple of his town-hall circuit in New Jersey and, lately, in New Hampshire.

"I know if my mom were still alive, she'd say to me, 'I taught you that in a trusting relationship, you don't hold anything back,' " Christie says in the video, facing a town-hall crowd. "When you ask about my moral compass, that's it. That's it."

Following the 11 a.m. Livingston announcement, Christie is set to travel to New Hampshire, where he is to hold a 6 p.m. town-hall meeting.

He is scheduled to remain in the state through July Fourth, making nearly a dozen stops, including two more town-hall meetings, two endorsement events, and a Fourth of July parade in Wolfeboro, a town on Lake Winnipesaukee, where 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has a summer home.

With his presidential ambitions now official, "I would suggest the governor resign Tuesday," John Currie, chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, said Monday during a conference call with reporters.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D., Hudson), also said during the call that a resignation by Christie would "probably be in the best interest" of New Jerseyans.

At a news conference Friday, Christie wouldn't address his next political steps, saying there would be "plenty of time to talk about my political future next week."