Christie defends lack of details in platform

Republican Christopher J. Christie, whose lead has been evaporating in public-opinion polls, fired back yesterday at critics who say he has failed to provide enough specifics in his gubernatorial platform.

Accepting an endorsement from environmentalists who have soured on Gov. Corzine, Christie said he would deliver on his promises to make the environment a priority and on his broad philosophy of cutting taxes and making government smaller.

"If people learned anything about me as U.S. attorney over the last seven years, they learned that when I say I'm going to do something, I do it," Christie said at a news conference in Trenton. "When I said I was going to combat public corruption, no one asked me exactly how you were going to do it, what number of attorneys you were going to put on, how much is this going to cost. Nobody asked me that. They said, 'Do it. Let's see if you can.' "

His comments appeared to be an attempt to fend off the growing questions about his refusal to go into detail on questions of how he would manage a multibillion-dollar budget gap, keep his promise to cut taxes, and replenish a nearly broke transportation-funding program.

"I will tell people what my philosophy of governing is, the direction I'm going to take our government," said Christie, who vowed to stick to that strategy.

He said that his emphasis on tax cuts contrasted with tax increases during Corzine's four years as governor, and that he would deliver on promises. He also said that the governor was "a lot of talk, no follow-through."

"That's probably why he got fired at Goldman Sachs, and that's why we should fire him as governor," Christie said.

Corzine raised major taxes twice, but he has said higher taxes should be a last resort. He has emphasized the need to protect schools and services for the needy and to have enough revenue to responsibly balance the budget.

The Corzine campaign responded by saying that Christie's words have not always matched his actions, particularly when he served as a Morris County freeholder in the mid-1990s.

"The only time Christie held a public office that didn't require fund-raising, he ran against no-bid contracts and then voted in favor of 440 no-bid contracts, including more than 50 for people that directly contributed to his campaign," said Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy. "Christie lasted one term as a freeholder, and as soon as the voters got a chance to fire him, they did."

Independent candidate Chris Daggett has garnered attention lately with a property tax-reduction plan that involves expanding the state's sales tax.

Corzine has given only outlines of how he would handle budget and tax issues in another term, but has a four-year record open for scrutiny.

The exchange came as a Fairleigh Dickinson poll found Corzine erasing leads posted by Christie in earlier polls; Corzine was at 44 percent among likely voters to 43 percent for Christie, a statistical dead heat.

Christie said that given the obstacles he faced - he is a Republican in a strongly Democratic state and has been hit with a deluge of advertising from Corzine's self-financed campaign - he knew the race would be close.

"I should be dead and buried by now . . . and I'm not, and that's bad news for him," Christie said.

The Corzine campaign said trends were turning in their favor.

"People across New Jersey are recognizing that Jon Corzine fights for what matters to New Jersey families," Darcy said, citing the governor's support of paid family leave and abortion rights. "The more people hear about Chris Christie, the more they see the clear choice between these two candidates."

Christie yesterday picked up the backing of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, which had never before endorsed a Republican in a statewide race.

Ben Forest, a federation board member, said Corzine "has failed to effectively lead."

Other environmental groups have either backed Daggett or stayed out of the race, a sign of their broad displeasure with Corzine's record on issues they care about.