Don’t feature the Governor in New Jersey tourism advertisements

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

New Jersey was trying to promote its state close to tourism giant New York. It used a face in its campaign – the face of New Jersey Governor Christie.

New Jersey was trying to promote its state close to tourism giant New York. It used a face in its campaign – the face of New Jersey Governor Christie.

Local media reports today: New Jersey U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone must have not liked a State campaign with a personal touch and the face of its governor has asked an inspector general to look into whether Governor Christie misappropriated federal funds to appear in a state tourism ad campaign.

Pallone, one of four Democrats vying for his partyโ€™s nomination in the special U.S. Senate election, sent a letter Thursday to David Montoya, inspector general of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funded the stateโ€™s $25 million campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore following superstorm Sandy.

At issue is the stateโ€™s decision to hire MWW, an East Rutherford public relations firm with ties to both Republicans and Democrats, to carry out the campaign. But MWW wasnโ€™t the low bidder. The Sigma Group, of Oradell, submitted a proposal that would have cost $2.2 million less. Buono contends the only difference in the two proposals is that MWW called for featuring Christie in the advertisements.

Pallone said he fought to pass the Sandy disaster relief package in Congress and is troubled by the difference in cost.

โ€œMany in Congress objected to this funding precisely because of concerns their citizensโ€™ tax dollars would be misspent,โ€ he wrote in his letter. โ€œIn that regard, the stateโ€™s mismanagement of taxpayer funds for this marketing campaign is extremely troubling, especially when there are so many New Jersey residents still in need of assistance to recover and rebuild from this historic storm.โ€

Michael Drewniak, Christieโ€™s press secretary, called Palloneโ€™s letter โ€œextremely troubling,โ€ adding that the congressman worked closely with the administration on Sandy aid.

โ€œThe only logical explanation is that itโ€™s political opportunism and grandstanding from a candidate for U.S. Senate down desperately low in the polls five days away from the primary,โ€ Drewniak said.

Palloneโ€™s request for an investigation came a day after state Sen. Barbara Buono, who is challenging Christie in November, called on the Republican governor to repay the state $2 million for the ad campaign. Pallone is one of Buonoโ€™s earliest supporters, publicly endorsing her in January and calling on other Democrats, who were apprehensive about her candidacy, to rally behind her.

The governorโ€™s office refuted Buonoโ€™s allegation saying MWW offered a more comprehensive proposal that called for regional events, including a star-studded live taping of the Today Show in Seaside Heights to kick-off Memorial Day weekend.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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