Atlantic City mayor blames Christie for Obama's abridged storm tour

THE SPECIAL at the White House Sub Shop could have fed President Obama, Gov. Chris Christie and Mayor Lorenzo Langford, with a little left over for a lucky Secret Service agent.

But Atlantic City's most famous eatery was swamped because of Hurricane Sandy when Obama and Christie toured the devastated coastline on Halloween. And instead of sharing a sub with the president and governor, the mayor spent several hours alone that day, waiting for the leaders inside an airport lounge and wondering if they would visit his struggling, storm-damaged resort.

Obama never visited Atlantic City, and Langford thinks Christie had something to do with it.

"The White House called and said they were coming to Atlantic City, and I think the governor changed that and decided to go to Brigantine instead," Langford, 57, said during an interview with the Daily News in City Hall. "That shows how petty he is, number one. And racially insensitive, number two. And politically myopic, number three."

Along with destroying large stretches of the Jersey Shore, Sandy also wiped out any chances that Christie and Langford would rebuild their relationship any time soon. The storm stirred up even more mud between the two outspoken leaders, who've been waging a war of words for two years now.

Before Sandy hit, Christie accused Langford of disobeying a direct order, of putting lives in danger by not forcing all of Atlantic City's residents to evacuate and of offering them last-resort shelters in the city. Langford's name even got dropped and dissed on the opening monologue of "Saturday Night Live."

"I don't accept bull----," Langford said. "You can say 'I don't like Langford,' and I don't have a problem with that because you're entitled to your opinion. You can say I think Langford is a lousy mayor or whatever and I'm not mad at you. I'll shake your hand and we can go to lunch, because you're entitled to your opinion. But you don't get to lie on me, I don't care who you are, governor or not."

Christie, in case you haven't heard, isn't one for B.S. either. His spokesman, Mike Drewniak, told the Daily News that Langford is a "unconstructive force" in Atlantic City.

Though several news outlets reported that Obama would be visiting storm damage in Atlantic City on Halloween, he wound up taking a helicopter tour over damaged areas north of the city after Air Force One landed at Atlantic City International Airport. The president and Christie then spent several hours in Brigantine, a quiet, mostly year-round Shore community just across Absecon Inlet from A.C.

Brigantine, Langford said, is a more affluent community than Atlantic City, and he noted that a large percentage of residents there also ignored the evacuation order.

State Sen. Jim Whelan, D-N.J., a former Atlantic City mayor, said he and Langford don't have the best relationship, but he felt Christie's criticism of his evacuation efforts were unfair.

"[Langford] got a bad rap for that," Whelan said.

Drewniak dismissed the notion that Christie influenced where Obama chose to visit that day.

"Atlantic City was supposed to be ground zero for the storm but it was lucky. It dodged a bullet," he said. "The main reason the president was here and needed to be here was to see the devastation along the coast, above Atlantic City. The president and his advisers knew that and he went north."

The White House declined to comment Wednesday.

Langford, a former dealer and pit boss at several casinos, said Christie hurt the resort's casino industry by ignoring Atlantic City during Obama's visit.

"Imagine the message that could have been sent had the governor walked the boardwalk with the president. It would have sent the message that the boardwalk was not destroyed, that the city is intact, and that we're open for business," Langford said.

The beef between Christie and Langford, according to Langford, began on the boardwalk in 2010, when Christie announced a do-or-die plan to revitalize Atlantic City with the formation of a tourism district that would have $30 million a year at its disposal. Langford claims the plan had no input from his office and felt it would split the city in two. He compared it to apartheid.

Whelan, however, said Langford has had every opportunity to be included in the tourism-district legislation.

"The phone in the mayor's office works both ways. He certainly could have called us," Whelan said. "It was a very, very public process."

Christie has also said Langford has failed as mayor in regards to Atlantic City's rising homicide numbers. Langford said Christie was a failure for letting illegal handguns get into the state.

Harry Hurley, a conservative radio host and longtime observer of Atlantic City's infamous politics, said he's friendly with both Christie and Langford and believes both men have the city's best interest at heart.

"I don't agree with the mayor that the governor is trying to divide Atlantic City. The governor is actually giving Atlantic City more support than any other governor in history," he said.

Hurley said Langford is "better than advertised."

"Every time someone says Langford can't do something, he does it," Hurley said. "I don't agree that he's failed the city. Langford's been successful."

Both men will win re-election if they choose to run, Hurley believes, and they could see the fate of Atlantic City play out before them during that next term.

"You know the saying, 'last one out, turn off the lights,' " Hurley said. "The next five years for Atlantic City are everything."

" @JasonNark