CHRIS PEDOTA / THE RECORD
Governor Christie fired back at a Democratic state senator on Tuesday who accused him of blocking Republicans from voting to put an open space funding question on the ballot this November.
The Republican governor said Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, "should learn how to count votes" before posting a bill.
"Every time Bob Smith fails, he looks for someone else to blame and that's getting kind of old now because he's failed on a bunch of stuff and it's never Bob Smith's fault," Christie said Tuesday after an event in Little Ferry.
But Smith said he was told he had the support of at least 10 Republican senators until Christie had staff make calls on Friday telling them to vote down the bill, which would have set aside $200 million for open space, historic preservation and the purchase of flood-prone properties annually for the next 30 years.
Smith said after superstorm Sandy caused wide-spread flooding last year, now is a more important time than ever to fund open space, which also purchases flood-prone properties through its Blue Acres program.
"You need a steady source of money to get people and property out of harms way," he said.
Both sides are pointing fingers at the opposite party in a disagreement that has now left the state without dedicated open space funding. That means no money to save farms from development, purchase flood-prone properties or save historic landmarks.
Smith said Christie resorts to name calling when he's trying to deflect attention from himself or his lack of a direct answer on a question.
"The governor didn't answer the question whether Republican senators had been intimidated by his office," Smith said Tuesday.
Christie said Smith should blame his own party.
