McKeon Jabs at Christie over NJ Transit Rail Woes
Assembly Judiciary Chairman John McKeon (D-27), who is co-leading the joint legislative inquiry into NJ Transit troubles, this morning shot a response back at Gov. Chris Christie, and in the process threw an elbow at Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11).
Frelinghuysen was the ultimate target, whom Christie had praised for federal work on the transit front.
“Gov. Chris Christie’s selfish political ambitions are the reason we’re not six months from a third tunnel, instead of 10 years away,” said McKeon. “The temerity to try and take a bow for funding that’s far from a certainty thanks to President [Donald] Trump is an outrage, but not a surprise.
“The next 10 years at least will be fraught with inconveniences to commuters, disrupting their family lives as a continued reminder of the Christie/Guadagno transportation legacy,” added the assemblyman from Essex County. As to Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, he has many more billions to go to make amends for his healthcare vote.”
McKeon continues to aggressively poke around on a 2018 challenge to Frelinghuysen.
First, having the ARC tunnels in service would have helped NJ Transit, but not the region as a whole as it was a standalone station. NY screwed us all by insisting that the tunnel could not go to Penn St, and Corzine was so desperate to get something started before the ’09 Election that he would have agreed to anything.
Second, Amtrak has done a terrible job of maintaining the most complex switching environment in the country, and possibly the world.
Third, does anyone really believe that the ARC tunnel would have been completed on time? Find the last tunnel constructed in this country that finished anywhere near on time. Or any major infrastructure upgrade or replacement.
McKeon is just another grandstanding pol who is building up his name recognition so he can run for Congress.