Democratic officials in New Jersey endorsed Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s re-election last year after scoring pricey public-works projects paid for by the Port Authority, according to a report published Tuesday.
Harrison Mayor Raymond McDonough had been trying for years to get a new PATH station built before getting a call from ex-PA official Bill Baroni, a Christie appointee who resigned last month over his ties to the Bridgegate scandal, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported.
The PA approved the new $256 million station in April 2012, and McDonough and all eight Harrison council members publicly called for Christie’s re-election nine months later, becoming the first elected Democrats in New Jersey to do so.
McDonough insisted there was no quid pro quo, telling The Star-Ledger, “I happen to like the guy.”
McDonough noted that he volunteered his endorsement without being asked first by Christie’s camp.
Democratic Union City Mayor and state Sen. Brian Stack also backed Christie after the governor lobbied the PA for $2.9 million to fix up the roads leading to the Lincoln Tunnel — the first time the city ever got such aid, the report says.
“Did I support the governor? You better believe I did,” Stack told The Star-Ledger.
“And I’d do it again tomorrow.”
The PA didn’t respond to requests for comment.