You probably remember the image of Chris Christie sitting on a beach chair, feet in the sand, during a state government shutdown that had closed that very beach to the public. It was July 2017, and for many New Jerseyans, it was the final, messy exclamation point on a governorship that started with such massive, bipartisan hope.
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how different things felt back in 2010.
When Chris Christie NJ governor first took office, he wasn't just another politician. He was a force of nature. He was the guy who told a heckler to "sit down and shut up." He was the U.S. Attorney who had put corrupt officials behind bars and was now promising to do the same to the state’s "sacred cow" budget. People loved it. At one point, his approval rating hit a staggering 77%.
But by the time he left Trenton in 2018, that number had cratered to 15%.
How do you fall that far? It wasn't just one thing. It was a slow-motion collision of a bridge scandal, a failed presidential run, and the very "straight talk" that people eventually decided was just bullying. Let’s get into what really went down during those eight years.
The Early Days: The Reformer Everyone Liked
New Jersey in 2009 was a fiscal wreck. Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine was struggling with a massive budget gap, and Christie—this larger-than-life Republican in a blue state—campaigned on the idea that he could fix the unfixable.
And he started fast.
Basically, his first term was defined by the "Jersey Comeback." He didn’t just talk about property taxes; he capped their growth at 2%. In a state where property taxes are essentially a second mortgage, this was huge. He also took on the public sector unions.
💡 You might also like: JD Vance River Raised Controversy: What Really Happened in Ohio
I'm telling you, it was high drama. He went to town halls across the state, and the videos went viral before "going viral" was even a term. He’d argue with teachers, firefighters, and police officers about their pensions. He told them the system was "bankrupting the state."
Surprisingly, he got them to the table. In 2011, he signed a massive pension and health benefit reform bill alongside Democratic leadership. It was supposed to save taxpayers $120 billion over 30 years. It was the peak of his power.
Then came Sandy.
When Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, Christie became the face of American resilience. You’ve probably seen the footage: the blue fleece jacket, the hugs with President Obama on the tarmac, the defiant "we will rebuild" attitude. For a moment, he wasn't a Republican or a Democrat. He was just the Governor. He won re-election in 2013 with over 60% of the vote, winning almost every demographic.
He was the frontrunner for the 2016 presidency. And then, the traffic stopped.
Bridgegate and the Culture of Retribution
If you weren't living in the tri-state area in September 2013, it’s hard to explain how bizarre "Bridgegate" was. For four days, access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee were shut down. The gridlock was historic. Ambulances were stuck. Kids were late for school.
The official story? A "traffic study."
📖 Related: Who's the Next Pope: Why Most Predictions Are Basically Guesswork
The real story? According to federal prosecutors and subsequent testimony, it was political payback. Mark Sokolich, the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, hadn't endorsed Christie for re-election. So, a few members of Christie's inner circle decided to create "traffic problems in Fort Lee."
Christie has always maintained he knew nothing about it until it hit the papers. "I am not a bully," he told a marathon two-hour press conference in January 2014.
But even if he didn't order the cones moved, the scandal revealed a culture. It suggested that if you weren't with the Governor, you were against him—and if you were against him, he’d find a way to make you pay. The "tough talker" image suddenly looked a lot more like a "schoolyard bully" image.
The Fiscal Reality Nobody Talks About
While the bridge scandal was sucking all the oxygen out of the room, the state’s finances were quietly deteriorating.
Christie’s brand was "no new taxes." He stuck to it. He vetoed millionaire taxes, he vetoed minimum wage hikes, and he cut the Homestead Rebate program (which provided property tax relief to residents).
But here’s the thing: you can't balance a budget just by saying "no."
To keep the lights on without raising taxes, the administration used a lot of "one-time fixes." They shifted money from the Clean Energy Fund. They settled an environmental lawsuit with ExxonMobil for $225 million when the state had originally sought $8.9 billion.
👉 See also: Recent Obituaries in Charlottesville VA: What Most People Get Wrong
Most importantly, the "sacred" pension payments started to slip.
In 2014, facing a revenue shortfall, Christie cut a $2.4 billion pension contribution. The same unions he’d made a deal with in 2011 sued him. The state’s credit rating was downgraded 11 times during his tenure. 11 times!
By the time he was running for President in 2015, the "New Jersey Success Story" he was selling on the campaign trail didn't match the reality back home. He spent 261 days out of the state in 2015. Voters noticed. They felt ghosted.
The Long Tail of the Christie Legacy
So, what do we make of Chris Christie NJ governor now?
It’s easy to focus on the scandals, but he did change the state. He was a pioneer in treating the opioid crisis as a public health issue rather than just a criminal one. He pushed for bail reform that basically ended the "debtor's prison" system where people stayed in jail just because they couldn't afford $500 in bail.
He was a master of the "bully pulpit." He proved that a Republican could win—and win big—in a state where Democrats outnumber them by a million.
But he also left behind a state with some of the highest taxes in the country and a pension system that is still a ticking time bomb. His style of "in-your-face" politics eventually paved the way for the national political climate we see today, though he eventually became one of the loudest critics of the very movement he helped enable.
Actionable Insights for New Jerseyans
If you're looking at the state of NJ politics today, here's how the Christie era still affects you:
- Property Tax Caps: The 2% cap is still in place. It hasn't lowered taxes, but it has definitely slowed the "runaway train" growth that was common in the early 2000s.
- Pension Reality: If you're a state worker, the stability of your retirement still hinges on the legislative battles that Christie started. The state is finally making full payments now, but the hole is deep.
- Infrastructure: The cancellation of the ARC Tunnel (the tunnel under the Hudson) remains one of his most controversial moves. The "Gateway Project" replacing it is now underway, but we lost a decade of progress.
- Political Engagement: Christie proved that voters respond to personality. Whether you liked him or hated him, you knew where he stood. In a world of focus-grouped politicians, that's a rarity.
Ultimately, Christie was a governor who wanted to be respected more than loved. He got his wish. For a few years, he was the most respected politician in the country. By the end, the respect had turned into a weary kind of frustration. He showed us that in New Jersey, the only thing more dangerous than the traffic is the politics.