Analysis: What To Expect In Chris Christie's Last Year As NJ Governor
by KYW's David Madden
TRENTON, NJ (CBS) -- New Jersey elects a new Governor to replace Chris Christie in 2017.
With one year left in his term, he's got some challenges in trying to get things done.
Good thing Christie doesn't pay attention to polls, or so he says, because his job performance numbers are at all time lows for him.
Democrats in control of the legislature have beaten Christie back on a number of fronts recently, but that doesn't mean they're not ready to work with him, even as a lame duck.
Just ask Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald.
"I don't look at it as 'What is the Governor going to get through the Legislature' or 'What is the Legislature going to get the Governor to sign'," Greenwald (D-Cherry Hill) told KYW Newsradio. "I think when people look at it that way, it's adversarial and, in essence, becomes failed public policy."
And Ben Dworkin, a political scientist at Rider University, notes that New Jersey's governor has more inherent power than any of his counterparts across the country.
He offers this example on the current debate to change the manner in which the state's public schools are funded.
"The Governor has been going around giving speeches talking about this, and because he is talking about it, everybody else has to talk about it," Dworkin said. "The legislators, the other candidates, all have to have a position."