NEW JERSEY COPS ■ AUGUST 2014
gan called a “fraternal gathering” rather
than a protest or rally. The Friday
before this Tuesday, the PBA combined
with the Fireman’s Mutual Benevolent
Association (FMBA) and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) to
send Gov. Christie a request to move
his town hall meeting to a location that
is not so sacred to cops, firefighters and
teachers, the three public service
groups he has most vilified during his
tenure in office.
“He wasn’t here because somebody
picked the location out of a hat or
because they threw a dart at a map of
NJ,” Colligan continued. “He’s here
because he knew the emblems of our
union are all over and this was a place
where he could come and completely
disrespect what we stand for.”
The governor didn’t disappoint and
sent up remarks of disrespect in his
opening statement, saying the state
can’t continue to give public workers
“something for nothing.” So while the
overwhelming message to Christie was
to pick another venue, the inherent
message could easily have been a show
of what PBA members – and FMBA and
NJEA members – are willing to give
every day to stand up for their pensions
and benefits. And what they give every
day is a long way from nothing.
Ground Force
Prior to Kerlin showing up at 6 a.m.,
his predecessor as State Delegate, Kevin
Lyons, and Ed Weimmer, the retired state
delegate and executive board member
who is still working hard for the cause,
showed up at 5:30 to start setting up. “We
also wanted to make sure our permit to
gather would be honored,” Lyons said.
But the mustering and the staging
started well before that. During the
weekend, the PBA posted a call to the
gathering on its Facebook page. And on
Sunday, email pushes from Colligan,
Kerlin, Lyons, Ocean County Conference
Chairman John Cernek – as well as working the phones – furthered the call for
members to come to LBI.
But the mustering and the staging
actually started before that. On Thursday, FMBA President Ed Donnelly was
attending St. Barnabas Hospital Burn
Camp in Union, Connecticut when he
was apprised of the governor’s plans to
hold his town meeting at the park where
the playground was built for Rousseau.
Donnelly called Colligan, and the NJEA
jumped on board to issue a joint letter
requesting the governor to move the
meeting. On Friday morning, the FMBA
29
lobbyist delivered the letter to the governor’s office.
Much of Friday morning was spent
anxiously awaiting a response, or at least
a comment from the governor.
“He still hasn’t commented on it,” Colligan noted shortly before the governor
arrived in LBI. “It’s strange that a press
office that comments on everything has
had no comment since Friday. We knew
he wasn’t going to change the venue so
here we are.”
Added Donnelly: “I couldn’t believe it
didn’t sink in and he didn’t cancel this or
move the venue. Classic Chris Christie.
My new tagline is that New Jersey is
stronger than Chris Christie. And we
are.”
By 6 a.m. Tuesday, about a