They’re accused of reducing access lanes to the bridge in the town of Fort Lee to punish the town’s Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie.
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On the eve of the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial involving two former allies of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, the two sides are clashing over whether the government has changed its theory of the case.
In a filing to the New Jersey Supreme Court, the state sought permission for the education department to bypass laws and collective bargaining agreements as it sees fit.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is asking the state’s highest court to reopen the three decade old debate over how to adequately fund public education.
Wildstein pleaded guilty previous year. The bridge, one of the busiest in the world, links Fort Lee and New York City.
Baroni, who was Christie’s top staff appointee at the Port Authority, is trying to separate himself not only from Christie but also from David Wildstein, a former friend whom Baroni hired to be a kind of enforcer at the agency.
“Better teaching methods, more instruction time and improved educational programs make the difference, and we can not in good conscience fail another generation of children living in the Garden State’s poorest school districts by denying them access to a proper education that is delivered by eager and capable teachers”, Christie said. Baroni and Kelly face both counts as well as several others including wire fraud.
New Jersey Education Association President Wendell Steinhauer said Christie wants to rob teachers of the right to help create learning conditions necessary for children to succeed.
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Defense attorneys are expected to characterize the government’s case as using legal sleight of hand to bend federal law to fit Baroni’s and Kelly’s actions – which, they argue, may have been ethically suspect but weren’t criminal. Christie has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged.
