Black, Latino Leaders Cool on Christie

Wall Street Journal

By Josh Dawsey and Heather Haddon

April 27, 2015

Black, Latino Leaders Cool on Christie

Gov. Chris Christie worked hard to win endorsements of blacks and Latinos in his re-election campaign and has frequently touted his inroads in minority communities in the buildup to a potential presidential run.

But many of the influential people he wooed back then have grown disillusioned with the governor, disturbed by what they see as his rightward turn and neglect of New Jersey as he has taken his message on the road. In interviews with more than a dozen people who endorsed Mr. Christie in his 2013 campaign, none yet were willing to support his potential 2016 bid for the White House.

While it is unusual for endorsements to occur before a candidate officially announces, many of those who endorsed Mr. Christie in 2013 said they would likely support a Democrat instead.

Some said they had endorsed the governor because they wanted more attention paid to their towns but have been disappointed with the level of communication after the George Washington Bridge scandal erupted. Others said they had backed Mr. Christie because his 2013 opponent, Democrat Barbara Buono, was a weak candidate.

“I don’t think he does well with urban residents in 2016,” said Bishop Reginald Jackson, a prominent Newark pastor whose 2013 endorsement of Mr. Christie was widely publicized. “They’re not going to back him in a presidential election.”

Aides to Mr. Christie said the governor is proud of his work with minority communities and has visited many places that typically don’t support Republican governors.

Like fellow 2016 hopefuls Rand Paul and Jeb Bush, Mr. Christie has often spoken about his outreach to minority communities, saying the Republican Party needs to attract a wider coalition. In New Jersey, his push to loosen the state’s bail laws for poor nonviolent offenders and expand its drug courts has won him credit among black and Hispanic voters.

He has spoken at the state’s NAACP conference and often attended New Hope Baptist Church, a Newark church with a predominantly black congregation. He won 51% of the Hispanic vote and 21% of the African-American vote in 2013, winning more than 60% in a Democratic state.

Camden Mayor Dana Redd, a Democrat, said Mr. Christie has pushed for better schools and safer streets in her city, often visiting and providing state help. Improvements have been made in both areas, helped by record corporate incentives for companies. “I don’t think he’s doing this for political brownie points,” she said, but declined to endorse him for president.

Many of Mr. Christie’s 2013 backers said they notice him taking more conservative positions to win over activists in places like Iowa and New Hampshire. Mr. Jackson, the pastor, and others said there was a perception he had lost focus on New Jersey and needed to visit troubled cities like Newark more.

Mr. Christie has pushed for changes to Newark’s school system, including opening more charter schools and reorganizing others, but he has largely avoided the city since Mayor Ras Baraka, a critic of Mr. Christie, took over.

“Wherever there are willing partners operating in good faith to find common ground, the governor will be there to work with them,” said Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts.

Other former backers are frustrated by the state’s continued economic struggles. New Jersey’s unemployment rate was 6.5% in March, one percentage point above the national average, and jobs have returned at slower rates than neighboring states.

Several prominent black leaders said his continuing criticism of President Barack Obama has soured them and that further cuts to benefits for public workers, as well as not funding the state’s pension system at promised levels, are damaging to middle-class workers. Many said they were surprised by the George Washington Bridge scandal and Mr. Christie’s frequent out-of-state travel, saying the two had swallowed much of his attention.

Many of the people who endorsed Mr. Christie in 2013 have expressed excitement over Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.

“If they were to run head-to-head, the governor is going to have a very tough race with her,” said FiorD’Aliza Frias, a Hudson County official who endorsed Mr. Christie in 2013. She is now supporting Mrs. Clinton, a Democrat.

Voters often look for different qualities in statewide candidates than national ones, said Ben Dworkin, a political-science professor at Rider University, and are more likely in presidential elections to stick with party ideology.

In Mr. Christie’s 2013 campaign, he didn’t have to take on certain hot-topic issues, like immigration or foreign policy, instead focusing on how he would use state resources and programs to help struggling communities.

When Mr. Christie signed on to a lawsuit that attempts to block Mr. Obama’s amnesty policy last month, Hispanic officials were incensed. “We expected a more moderate stance because of some of his comments, some of his actions, like his trip to Mexico,” said Carlos Medina, chairman of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, whose endorsement was promoted by Mr. Christie’s campaign. “I don’t think there was a expectation he’d take such a hard line.”

One of Mr. Christie’s biggest Hispanic endorsements in 2013 came from the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey. At the time, it noted Mr. Christie’s funding of the state’s pension system, expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Health Care Act and his agreement that “comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue.”

Its president, Martin Pérez, wanted Mr. Christie to approve Mr. Obama’s amnesty program for immigration and was shocked by Mr. Christie’s executive action, he said, which tries to block it.

Mr. Christie seems to be working to change some of the perceptions. He met earlier this month with Mr. Pérez at the governor’s mansion and has promised to meet with his board members soon. Mr. Pérez said he hoped the relationship would improve.

Mr. Christie said he wanted to push the president to work with Congress on an immigration solution instead of acting unilaterally. Of his detractors in the Latino community, he said they remained friends of his, “but we’re not going to agree on every issue.”

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