Pictures, above and below, Eddie Rivera on 2013 election night at the Camden Couty Democratic Headquarters in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Picture right, Eddie Rivera taken on his phone on Jan 9, 2014, at New Jersey State house, Trenton, after Governor Christie's press conference and after the hearings for David Wildstein.
Picture bottom of page, Governor Christie during a Town Hall meeting in Voorhees, New Jersey, Oct 2012.
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In mid Sep 2013, lanes from Fort Lee onto the George Washington Bridge
were closed for 4 days.
At first the Christie administration claimed that the lane closures were a
“traffic study”. However the first weeks of Jan 2014 revealed a whole lot more was going on than a “traffic
study”.
Christie’s Deputy Chief of Staff
Bridget Kelly exchanged emails with Director of Interstate Capital
Projects for
the New Jersey and New York Port Authority David Wildstein about closing
the
bridge.
Bridget Kelly wrote to David Wildstein: “Time for some traffic
problems in
Fort Lee”.
Wildstein’s reply was, “Got it!”
Then Bridget Kelly ordered the
George
Washington Bridge General Manager Robert Durando to close 2 of the 3
Fort Lee
access lanes on the bridge.
This was a shocking ordeal for the thousands
of drivers stuck in gridlock on the world's busiest traffic bridge, and
the
governor stated he had no involvement.
During the 4 days of traffic gridlock, children
missed the first day of school and EMTs were delayed getting to medical emergencies.
Crossing the Hudson River from Fort Lee, NJ to Manhattan,
NY. costs 13 dollars.
This massive traffic jam hit a nerve for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich who worried
about the school children, EMTs and the thousands of workers.
The
mayor texted Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni urging
for his help to reopen the lanes.
The mayor told Baroni there were 4 busy
traffic lanes merging into one toll booth. Imagine being late for school or work in this type of environment.
I just couldn’t imagine being in this situation and I hope I don’t ever
get into this mess ever.
Wildstein passed Sokolich’s message to some unidentified
recipient about the traffic who replied, “Is it wrong that I’m smiling? I feel
badly about the kids I guess."
Wildstein's reply was, “They are the children of
Buono voters.”
This here is a reference to Barbara Buono, state senator and
gubernatorial candidate against Christie.
Perhaps the bridge closings were
retaliations towards Sokolich who did not want to endorse Christie for
governor. I don’t blame Sokolich for one second. He did not want to
drink Christie’s poison as had so many of the other Democrats in New Jersey.
This was seen as a challenge to test Sokolich’s patience and defiance.
I stand
by the mayor’s decision to not endorse Christie but am appalled that the George Washington Bridge was closed down the bridge
because of it.
I feel bad for the children
who missed school, the EMTs who had emergencies delayed and all who were either late for work or home because no toll booth was
fully operational.
And I especially feel bad that Senator Buono’s name had to
be mentioned this horrific episode.
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On Jan 9, 2014, I was at the state house in Trenton when Governor Christie held a press
conference. The
press conference lasted 2 hours and the governor’s office was blocked off
by state police. You had to get a press pass to enter the conference and my
father’s state police card wouldn’t let me in. It was difficult for me
to get a clear view of Christie live and in living color from the outside, but I heard it all.
During the whole conference, the governor had repeatedly said he did not know
about “Bridgegate” and apologized about what happened. The
governor told us he fired Bridget Kelly because he said she lied to him.
I’m thinking okay Bridget Kelly got
the boot. She had to pay the price. Justice has been served, right?
Questions have still yet to be answered.
David Wildstein had been subpoenaed
by the Assembly Transportation committee about his involvement in “Bridgegate” and I was in the chambers watching these proceedings.
Led by Committee Chairman John Wisniewski, Wildstein was asked about his
knowledge of the incident and the secret contact that told him about “feeling bad
about those children.”
Wildstein said, “I plead the fifth.” The right to remain silent.
That’s all he said which made Assemblyman Wisniewski to
believe that Wildstein was wasting the committee’s time and the committee voted to hold him in contempt.
After the hearing ended, Wildstein dodged any questions from the press. A Port Authority official is keeping
everyone in a bubble by not giving more details.
I suspect that Wildstein is hiding something. I can only
imagine the elephant in the room pulling the strings on this operation. And we
all know who that elephant is: he’s been in the cover of
Time Magazine right in your face. Governor Christie. The one is the one
who said he felt bad for those kids. That’s why Wildstein is pleading the fifth.
As for Bridget Kelly, I
suspect that Christie's “firing” of Kelly is more smoke and mirrors and that he is paying off Kelly to lay low and keep
quiet.
Christie is likely the real mastermind behind this horrendous ordeal and Bridget Kelly
and Wildstein his accomplices. That’s why he orchestrated the bridge
closing as revenge for Sokolich for choosing Buono over him.
The emails between Gov Christie's staff called Mayor Sokolich an ignorant stupid little Serbian? Sokolich is
not Serbian, he’s Croatian. Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is Serbian
and he’s still rotting in jail for attempting to sell President Barack Obama’s
then Senate seat even though he is a Democrat.
When the perpetrators are tried
and convicted, I hope they do rot in jail for a long time and never receive a
pardon.
This is the beginning of
the end for Christie’s reign of terror in the Garden State. He tried to
create a legacy on busting on corruption back as a prosecutor and US Attorney.
Now we finally see his true colors, a bully.
I hope everyone is regrets
voting him to office again because once the truth is revealed and Christie has
his hands in the cookie jar, we can all kiss his 2016 presidential aspirations
goodbye. I look forward to seeing the truth slowly unfold. Then the Democrats
will once again have full power once the 2017 gubernatorial elections come
around.
The next governor’s race will be seen as a referendum if the state wants
a repeat of Christie clones or a change of direction. Get ready
for the impact that is coming.
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