TRENTON – New Jersey Democrats say Gov. Chris Christie'due south boondocks hall meetings are partisan events, not governmental meetings – and they want the Land Ethics Commission to investigate.

The chairman of the New Jersey Democrat State Committee, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, described Christie's apply of a Republican-funded video at ane of his recent town halls as "the concluding straw" over the contend of whether the governor's signature events are political or only regular government activities.

Democrats, Wisniewski says, have long argued that the governor has pushed the boundaries of country statutes regarding engaging in political activity during work hours.

Now, Democrats are asking the State Ideals Commission to investigate whether Christie violated the law by showing the Republican-backed video at a taxpayer-funded event.

"Nosotros've been maxim that all along, simply apparently information technology'south the kind of statement that the (governor'due south) front office has rebutted," Wisniewski told PolitickerNJ.

"By using a Republican National Committee video at what he has been claiming to be a governmental boondocks hall meeting is the terminal harbinger," he said. "It is clearly bear witness that the governor uses these meetings equally partisan events."

The letter, which was dated Sept. 24, came after Christie used a video produced for his advent at the RNC concluding month during his Sept. 13 town hall in Howell.

The governor's office responded shortly afterwards the September town hall past saying that the video, which was used to introduce the governor in Tampa for his keynote address, was biographical – not political.

"We don't see the video as anything simply biographical in nature, simply we get how it can be viewed and won't be using it at town halls," Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said post-obit the event.

The assistants'due south decision not utilise the video in the future is further proof they overstepped, Wisniewski said.

"Evidently they recognize the error," he said. "He'southward increasingly extending the boundaries of propriety here."

Responding to a request for comment on the chairman's recent letter, Drewniak defendant Wisniewski of "beingness footling."

"He should be worried about cleaning up his corrupt Middlesex County political car with its secretive PACs and breathy subversion of pay-to-play laws. I mean, he is concerned about that, right?" Drewniak responded. Wisniewski slams gov for use of GOP-funded video at town hall, calls for investigation

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