The Fort Lee lane closure scandal, also known as the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal is a U.S. political scandal in which a staff member and certain political appointees of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have been seen to have conspired to create traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey, starting at a New York-bound, upper-level, toll plaza entrance to the George Washington Bridge. the problem began on September 9, 2013 led to closure of two of three lanes causing a major traffic jam for five days. The disruption was known to be created for political retribution.

The mayor Mark Sokolich, local area and emergency service officials and the public were not notified of the closure and this was a threat to the general public as school buses on the first week of school and emergency response services were delayed in area they were needed due to traffic. In this paper, we will find out what happen in George Washington Bridge Scandal, the scandal, the cover up and how it will affect his trust from the people and his bid for presidency.

The following week, the Port Authority issued a statement saying it had been conducting a traffic study.  The claim was they were reviewing the effect on traffic if some of those local lanes were diverted for highway commuter use.  The problem with the explanation was they couldn’t produce a traffic study to back up the claim (Darryl, 2014). This was part of a cover up between Bridget Anne Kelly, the deputy chief of staff to Christie and David Wildstein, a senior official at the Port Authority as seen in an email Kelly wrote to Wildstein “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee”. It was seen as a political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee and New Jersey since they had openly refused to endorse Christie as Governor though (Bankoff, 2014). Their calls and inquiries for the lanes closure were ignored as seen in emails between Kelly and Wildstein.

This was all a cover up since officials were deeply divided about the shutdown (Santi & Peoples, 2014). Christie had previously assured the public that his staff had nothing to do with lane closings last fall that caused major backups at the George Washington Bridge, among the worlds busiest. But after documents revealed Wednesday that his administration may have intentionally caused the traffic jam to exact political retribution, the governor fired a top aide and jettisoned his chief political adviser (Santi & Peoples, 2014).  According to Christie, he was embarrassed and humiliated by people in his team and people would be held responsible. The lanes were later opened on an order from Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority and wrote an email that stated, “Hasty and ill-advised the decision violated policy and long-standing custom at the PA, and that he believed that closing the lanes violates Federal Law and the laws of both States”. Foyes made sure that word got out since he did not want the public to be kept in the dark. Several of Christie’s appointees and aides either resigned or were forced out as investigations into the closures intensified.

David Wildstein wrote a letter to the Port Authority claiming that the lane closures were directives from the Christie’s administration contrary to what Christie had said in a press conference and evidence exists (Gentilviso, 2014). Over the 900 documents released by Christie administration, the materials do not appear to contain any evidence directly linking the governor to the decision to shut down the two of the bridge’s lanes.

Christie adamantly denied any personal “knowledge or involvement” in the lane closures, a passionate pronouncement that satisfied some critics in the short term but creates political risk amid ongoing investigations. Democrats and Republicans said the governor’s presidential prospects could be severely undermined, if not crippled, should evidence emerge that contradicts his denials (Santi & Peoples, 2014).

The George Washington scandal came from something small to a national scandal that would have consequences in 2016. (Mark Mueller). There were democrats and presidential hopeful republican ready to take down the governor who is interested to be president in 2016. The scandal threatens to tarnish his image ahead of a general election. According to former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, a Republican whom Christie has described as a mentor sees Christie surviving as long as nothing comes up complicating the governor (Santi & Peoples, 2014). Christie who is seen as a bully by many will have a hard time getting him out of this. He will have to convince people that he can learn a state and this will convince people he is a leader.

In subpoenaed by Democrats investigating the matter and spiced with tough Jersey political talk and expletives, is the most damaging evidence so far supporting their assertions the move was orchestrated because Fort Lee’s mayor, a Democrat, didn’t endorse Christie’s re-election (Shoichet, 2014). It will be hard to convince people that he had nothing to do with the lanes closure though he is not implicated in any report. In messages written by some of closest staff including one from Wildstein saying that the children stuck in traffic are the children of Buono voters,Barbara Buono, Christies opponent in the governors’ race. It will be hard for voters not to see Christie involvement in the plot.

The battle will be hard to win against Democrats who want him down like New Jersey Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski who said the e-mails call into question the integrity of the governor’s office. “I do not believe the governor called the Port Authority and said, ‘Close some lanes.’ But I did say I hold him responsible for the atmosphere. Now finding that that atmosphere existed in his own office is what I find really troubling,” Wisniewski said (Shoichet, 2014). Christie being hard to attack opened a bridge to attacks. Political strategists suggested the episode offers future opponents a readymade line of attack — who likes a traffic jam? (Santi & Peoples, 2014).

     Christie is seen like other candidates like Clinton who have had scandals and overcame them by winning the election but the potential death of a woman as a result of traffic delays likely puts this in a whole new realm – one of lawsuits and criminal investigations(Isherwood, 2014). All this scandal has made New Jersey people doubt and reduce trust on Governor Christie. Christies’ statement also won’t sit well with voters as he did not show empathy to those who were harmed (Mueller, 2014). According to Hill in Mueller (Ed. 2014) there is nothing worse than messing with peoples commute. This scandal was a big blow to Christies’ image.

Christie is portrayed like an evil, bully and who forces his way in things and uses other people as scapegoats. He fires his top confidents for a scandal he is seen to be part of. He tries to distance himself from the scandal so as not to tarnish his image and ruin his candidature for president. His opponents see him like a corrupt person who misuses office and cannot be leader.  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, sees Christie as a “completely untrustworthy” and said he had “forfeited his right” to any future leadership role (Mueller, 2014). He will have to prove to people otherwise and try winning back the trust of New Jerseys’ people and the rest of the Americans if he is to contest for the presidential seat.

References

Mueller, M. (2014, January 23) GWB Could Harm Chris Christie In A 2016 Presidential Run, Political Observers Say. Nj.Com True Jersey.  Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/will_chris_christies_2016_chances_be_hurt_by_new_gwb_scandal_revelations.html

Santi,A.D. (2014, January 23). Chris Christie Looks to Recover amid George Washington Bridge Traffic Scandal. Huff Post Politics. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics

 Shoichet, C.E. (2014, January 9) Bridge Firestone Could Have Bigger Impact On Christie CNN. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/08/politics/christie-bridge/

Bankoff, C. (2014, January 12) George Washington Bridge Scandal Documents Reveal Chaos, Cover-Up, and Cursing.  New York News & Politics. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/01/bridge-scandal-documents-show-chaos-cover-up.html

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