>In ethically challenged NJ : Christie hammers home ethics reforms in town hall

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie roused the crowd Wednesday at his second town hall event of the week to push his stalled year-old package of bills to strengthen the state’s ethics laws.

“It seems like a ban on dual-office holding and two public salaries, we can all agree on that, right? It’s not a Republican or Democratic issue. We should all be able to come together and say it’s wrong,” Christie told the crowd packed into a senior center in Sayreville, as two local priests looked on from the front row.

After all, who doesn’t want more ethics?

“Not even a hearing — they acted as if it’s not even there,” the governor said of the Democratic leaders in the Legislature. “What that tells me that they again don’t want to tell you what’s going on.”

But while the concepts seem simple — lawmakers should only be able to hold one elected office, should only get paid for one public job, and should disclose their conflicts of interest and as much information as about their finances as the Executive Branch — Democrats say the bills are an oversimplified smokescreen brought back around by the governor as an election nears.  (DeFalco, Associated Press)