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Look up view in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A view is what can be seen in a range of visual perception (i.e., from a certain perspective). The word view may imply a scenic outlook or extraordinary vantage point:

View may also mean:

• Camera angle
• Graphical projection
• Page view
• Panorama
• Station point
• View (Buddhism)
• View (database)
• View model

Laws or regulations in various jurisdictions may protect a view as an easement, preventing property owners from constructing buildings that would block the view from another location. For example, planning regulations in London protect the view of various historical buildings, such as St. Paul's Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster.

See also[link]

• List of senses
• Viewing (funeral)

References[link]

Jeremy Joseph Fry (1924–2005) was a British inventor, engineer, entrepreneur, adventurer and arts patron.

Early life[link]

Born into the Fry family on 19 May 1924 in Bristol, he was the second son of Cecil Roderick Fry who as the last chairman of the J. S. Fry & Sons chocolate concern arranged for the sale of the company to rival Cadbury's, enraging the family.^[1] Jeremy was educated at Gordonstoun, and joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot. After the war, Jeremy took up motorsport^[2] driving the 500cc Parsenn^[3] but quit after cousin Joe was killed at Blandford.

Career[link]

He became a product designer with Frenchay Products Ltd between 1954 and 1957. He founded Rotork Engineering Company in 1957 after identifying the potential of valve actuators. As Chairman he oversaw Rotork's rise to becoming the market leader in equipment for use in oil and gas pipelines, refineries, power stations and waste water plants, and a member of the FTSE 250 Index.

Noted as an inventor and engineer, his designs included a car, the Sea Truck (a flat boat ferry capable of carrying one car at high speed), and a four-wheel-drive wheelchair. Additionally he was responsible for starting James Dyson out on his own inventing career by mentoring him in 1970 at Rotork.

His friend Tony Richardson, film and theatre director, described Fry (and their many travels together) in his autobiography Long Distance Runner (London, 1993; pp187–90).

Arts patron[link]

He was noted for his keen interest in the Arts and will be remembered as the saviour of the Theatre Royal, Bath. He bought the theatre in 1979 and as its Chairman oversaw its extensive renovation. In addition to being Chairman of the Northern Ballet Theatre he was the chairman of the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol.

Personal life[link]

Fry married Camilla Grinling in 1955 (died 2000). They had two sons and two daughters and the marriage was dissolved in 1967.^[1] Their daughter Polly claimed in 2004 that her biological father had in fact been Fry's friend Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, the husband of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon; Fry described the claim as "utter nonsense".^[4]

Death[link]

Fry himself died in his palace at Tamil Nadu, Madurai, India on 18 July 2005.^[1]

References[link]

Obituaries[link]

• "Jeremy Fry: Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 20 July 2005. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1494382/Jeremy-Fry.html. 
• "Entrepreneur and inventor Jeremy Fry dies". University of Bath newsletter. 21 July 2005. http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/campus/jeremy-fry210705.html. 
• "Jeremy Fry: Obituary". The Times (London). 26 July 2005. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1080812.ece. "Socialite and host who also had the entrepreneur's touch" 
• "Jeremy Fry: Obituary". The Independent. 27 July 2005. http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article301837.ece. "Inventor-engineer whose ingenuity was matched by astonishing energy" 
• "Jeremy Fry: Obituary". The Sunday Independent. 27 July 2005. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jeremy-fry-500318.html. 

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Michelle Obama
First Lady of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office January 20, 2009
Preceded by	Laura Bush
Personal details
Born	Michelle LaVaughn Robinson (1964-01-17) January 17, 1964 (age 48) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Barack Obama (m. 1992)
Children	Malia (born 1998) Sasha (born 2001)
Residence	Hyde Park, Chicago (private) The White House (official)
Alma mater	Princeton University (A.B.) Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Protestant Christian
Signature

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.^[1][2]

Family and education[link]

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, to Fraser Robinson III,^[3] a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store.^[4] Her mother was a full-time homemaker until Michelle entered high school.^[5] The Robinson and Shields families can trace their roots^[6] to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. Specifically, her roots can be traced to the Gullah people from South Carolina's Lowcountry region.^[7] Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina,^[8][9] where some of her paternal family still reside.^[10][11] Her maternal great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields, also a slave, became pregnant by a white man. His name and the nature of their union have been lost. She gave birth to Michelle's biracial maternal great-great grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields.^[12]

Michelle grew up in a two-story house on Euclid Street in Chicago's South Shore community area. Her parents rented a small apartment on the house's second floor from her great-aunt, who lived downstairs.^{[4][13][14][15]} She was raised in what she describes as a "conventional" home, with "the mother at home, the father works, you have dinner around the table".^[16] The family entertained together by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading.^[17] They attended services at nearby South Shore Methodist Church.^[13] The Robinsons used to vacation in a rustic cabin in White Cloud, Michigan.^[13] She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy).^[18]

She attended Whitney Young High School,^[19] Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was a classmate of Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita.^[17] The round trip commute from the Robinsons' South Side home to the Near West Side, where the school was located, took three hours.^[20] She was on the honor roll for four years, took advanced placement classes, a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer.^[4] Michelle graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of her class.^[20]

Michelle was inspired to follow her brother to Princeton University;^[5] Craig graduated in 1983. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational.^[21] As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community."^[22][23] "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs."^[20] While at Princeton, she got involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group that supported minority students, running their day care center which also included after school tutoring.^[24] Robinson majored in sociology and minored in African American studies and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985.^[4][25] She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988.^[26] At Harvard she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minorities^[27] and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases.^[28] She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush.^[29] In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.^[30]

Barack and Michelle Obama, 2008.

She met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments),^[31] and she was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate.^[32] Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her.^[33] The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie Do the Right Thing.^[34] They married in October 1992,^[33] and have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001).^[35] After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children.^[36] She is the first cousin, once removed, of Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., one of the country’s most prominent black rabbis.

She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move.^[16] Now, Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors.^[37][38] The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance".^[39] However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.^[40]

The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school.^[41] As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school.^[5] Malia and Sasha now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, after also considering Georgetown Day School.^[42][43] Michelle stated in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that they do not intend to have any more children.^[44] The Obamas have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House.^[43] Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, has moved into the White House to assist with child care.^[45]

Career[link]

Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property.^[4] She continues to hold her law license, but as she no longer needs it for her work, it has been on a voluntary inactive status since 1993.^[46]

In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies.^[19] She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood 12 years after she left.^[17]

In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center.^[47] In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs.^[48] She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election;^[49] she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job.^[50] According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income, however, was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.^[51]

She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS),^[52] a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007.^[53] She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.^[54]

2008 Presidential election[link]

Oprah Winfrey joins the Obamas on the campaign trail, December 10, 2007

The Obamas fist bump upon his winning the Democratic nomination.

The Obamas, with Joe and Jill Biden at the August 23, 2008 Vice Presidential announcement in Springfield, Illinois.

Obama speaks at the 2008 Democratic convention

Although Obama has campaigned on her husband's behalf since early in his political career by handshaking and fund-raising, she did not relish the activity at first. When she campaigned during her husband's 2000 run for United States House of Representatives, her boss at the University of Chicago asked if there was any single thing about campaigning that she enjoyed; after some thought, she replied that visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas.^[55]

At first, Obama had reservations about her husband's presidential campaign, due to fears about a possible negative effect on their daughters.^[56] She says that she negotiated an agreement in which her husband was to give up smoking in exchange for her support of his decision to run.^[57] About her role in her husband's presidential campaign she has said: "My job is not a senior adviser."^[37][58][59] During the campaign, she has discussed race and education by using motherhood as a framework.^[21]

In May 2007, three months after her husband declared his presidential candidacy, she reduced her professional responsibilities by 80 percent to support his presidential campaign.^[16] Early in the campaign, she had limited involvement in which she traveled to political events only two days a week and traveled overnight only if their daughters could come along;^[3] by early February 2008 her participation had increased significantly, attending thirty-three events in eight days.^[38] She made several campaign appearances with Oprah Winfrey.^[60][61] She wrote her own stump speeches for her husband's presidential campaign and generally spoke without notes.^[20]

Throughout the campaign, the media often labeled her as an "angry black woman,"^[62][63][64] and some Web sites attempted to propagate this image,^[65] prompting her to respond: "Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we've developed a thick skin along the way. When you’re out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory."^[66] By the time of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, media outlets observed that her presence on the campaign trail had grown softer than at the start of the race, focusing on soliciting concerns and empathizing with the audience rather than throwing down challenges to them, and giving interviews to shows like The View and publications like Ladies' Home Journal rather than appearing on news programs. The change was even reflected in her fashion choices, wearing more informal clothes in place of her previous designer pieces.^[55] The View appearance was partly intended to help soften her public image,^[62] and it was widely-covered in the press.^[67]

The presidential campaign was her first exposure to the national political scene; even before the field of Democratic candidates was narrowed to two, she was considered the least famous of the candidates' spouses.^[58] Early in the campaign, she told anecdotes about the Obama family life; however, as the press began to emphasize her sarcasm, she toned it down.^[51][57] New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd wrote:

I wince a bit when Michelle Obama chides her husband as a mere mortal — comic routine that rests on the presumption that we see him as a god ... But it may not be smart politics to mock him in a way that turns him from the glam JFK into the mundane Gerald Ford, toasting his own English muffin. If all Senator Obama is peddling is the Camelot mystique, why debunk this mystique?^[58][68]

On the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Craig Robinson introduced his younger sister.^[69] She delivered her speech, during which she sought to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream.^[70] Obama said both she and her husband believed "that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, and you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them."^[71] She also emphasized loving her country, in response to criticism for her previous statements about feeling proud of her country for the first time.^[70][72][73] That keynote address was largely well received and drew mostly positive reviews.^[74] A Rasmussen Reports poll found that her favorability among Americans reached 55%.^[75]

On an October 6, 2008 broadcast, Larry King asked her if the American electorate was past the Bradley effect. She stated that her husband's achievement of the nomination was a fairly strong indicator that it was.^[76] The same night she also was interviewed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show where she deflected criticism of her husband and his campaign.^[77] On Fox News' America's Pulse, E. D. Hill referred to the fist bump shared by the Obamas on the night that he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination as a "terrorist fist jab"; Hill was taken off air and the show itself was cancelled.^[78][79][80]

First Lady of the United States[link]

Then-First Lady Laura Bush sits with Obama in the private residence of the White House.

Michelle Obama wore Isabel Toledo clothes made of St. Gallen Embroidery to the 2009 presidential inauguration.

The Obamas dance at a presidential inaugural ball.

Public image and style[link]

With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Michelle Obama has become a part of popular culture. In May 2006, Essence listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women."^[81][82] In July 2007, Vanity Fair listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, 02138 magazine listed her 58th of 'The Harvard 100'; a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth.^[81][83] In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the Vanity Fair international best dressed list.^[84] She also appeared on the 2008 People list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.^[85][86]

At the time of her husband's election, some sources anticipated that as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage she would be a positive role model who would influence the view the world has of African-Americans.^[87][88] Her fashion choices were part of the 2009 Fashion week,^[89] but Obama's influence in the field did not have the impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, that some thought it might.^[90][91]

She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style,^[84] and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum.^[92][93] Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy".^[94][95] Obama's style is described as populist.^[29] She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto,^[96] and has become a fashion trendsetter,^[97][98][99] in particular her favoring of sleeveless dresses that showcase her toned arms.^[100]

She appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of Vogue.^[101][102] Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in Vogue,^[101] but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover.^[103]

The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions.^[29][104] She has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families.^{[87][105][106]} U.S.News & World Report blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has argued that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance.^[107] Erbe has stated on several occasions that she is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.^[45][108]

Work undertaken and causes promoted[link]

Obama is greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom April 1, 2009

Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni

During her early months as First Lady, she visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens.^[109] She also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service.^[109][110] On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.^[111] She has begun advocating on behalf of military families.^[112] Like her predecessors Clinton and Bush, who supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food, Obama has received attention by planting an organic garden and installing bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House, which will supply organic produce and honey to the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.^[113][114]

Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law, Obama hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration. She has pronounced her support for the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers have looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others have said that she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intends to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.^[115]

She gained growing public support in her early months as first lady.^[109][116] She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans.^[109][112] As the public is growing accustomed to her, she is becoming more accepted as a role model.^[109] Newsweek described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power"^[116] and MSN described it as a display of sartorial elegance.^[82] There were questions raised in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II,^[117] and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette.^[117][118] Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.^[119]

Obama and Ellen DeGeneres dance on the second anniversary of Let's Move!.

On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her current chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service.^[120] Then in February 2010, the resignation of White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers was announced to be effective the following month.^[121] Rogers had been at odds with other administration officials, such as David Axelrod, and then the White House State Dinner faux pas occurred on November 24, 2009.^[122] Rogers was replaced by Julianna Smoot.^[123]

After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity.^[124] She stated that her goal is to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, ‘Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.’ And my hope is that that’s going to be in the area of childhood obesity."^[124] She has named the movement "Let's Move!".^[125] This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country.^[126] She has earned widespread publicity on the topic of healthy eating by planting the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as First Lady.^[124][127]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• David Colbert (December 2008). Michelle Obama, An American Story. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0-547-24770-2. 
• Elizabeth Lightfoot (December 2008). Michelle Obama: First Lady of Hope. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-59921-521-7. 
• Liza Mundy (October 2008). Michelle Obama, A Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1-4165-9943-6. 

External links[link]

	African American portal
	Barack Obama portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michelle Obama

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Michelle Obama

• First Lady Michelle Obama at Whitehouse.gov
• "About Michelle Obama" at BarackObama.com
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Michelle Obama at the Internet Movie Database
• Michelle Obama at TED Conferences
• Works by or about Michelle Obama in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Michelle Obama at the Notable Names Database
• Michelle Obama collected news and commentary at Chicago Tribune
• Michelle Obama collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Michelle Obama collected news and commentary at U.S.News & World Report
• Michelle Obama On Love, Family & Politics, interview with Katie Couric of CBS News, February 15, 2008
• Photoessay in Newsweek

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Chris Christie
55th Governor of New Jersey
Incumbent
Assumed office January 19, 2010
Lieutenant	Kim Guadagno
Preceded by	Jon Corzine
United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
In office January 17, 2002 – December 1, 2008[1]
Nominated by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Robert Cleary
Succeeded by	Ralph Marra (Acting)
Member of the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office January 1, 1995 – January 1, 1998
Personal details
Born	Christopher James Christie (1962-09-06) September 6, 1962 (age 49) Newark, New Jersey
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Pat Foster
Children	Andrew (b. 1993) Sarah (b. 1996) Patrick (b. 2000) Bridget (b. 2003)
Residence	Mendham
Alma mater	University of Delaware Seton Hall University
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

Christopher James "Chris" Christie (born September 6, 1962) is the 55th and current Governor of New Jersey. Upon his election to the governorship in November 2009, Christie became the first Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey in 12 years. Christie, an attorney, previously served as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as a Morris County, New Jersey Freeholder. In 2011, he considered entering the race for the Republican Presidential nomination but ultimately decided not to run.

Early life, education, and family[link]

Chris Christie was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Sondra A. (née Grasso) and Wilbur James "Bill" Christie, a certified public accountant.^[2][3][4] Christie is of Scottish, Irish, and Sicilian descent.^[5][6][7][8] He was raised in Livingston, graduating from Livingston High School.^[9] Christie graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1984 and Seton Hall University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987. Christie was admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey and the Bar of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, in December 1987. After being elected the Governor of New Jersey, he was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey, and Monmouth University in 2010.^{[10] [11]}

In 1986, Christie married Mary Pat Foster, a fellow student at the University of Delaware. After marriage they shared a one-room apartment in Summit, New Jersey. Mary Pat Christie pursued a career in investment banking, eventually working at the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald. She left the firm in 2001 following the September 11 attacks, only recently returning to work part-time.^[3] They have four children: Andrew (born 1993), Sarah (born 1996), Patrick (born 2000), and Bridget (born 2003).^[12] Christie and his family reside in Mendham Township.^[13][14]

Early career[link]

Lawyer[link]

In 1987, Christie joined the law firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci of Cranford, New Jersey. In 1993, he was named a partner in the firm. Christie specialized in securities law, appellate practice, election law, and government affairs. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association and was a member of the Election Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Morris County Freeholder[link]

Christie, at the time a resident of Mendham, was in 1994 elected as a Republican to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, with Christie and a running mate having defeated incumbent freeholders in the party primary. After that election, the defeated incumbents filed defamation lawsuits against Christie based on statements made during the primary campaign. Christie had incorrectly stated that the incumbents were under investigation for violating certain local laws. The lawsuit was settled out of court.^[15]

As freeholder, Christie required the county government to obtain three quotes from qualified firms for all contracts. He led a successful effort to bar county officials from accepting gifts from people and firms doing business with the county. He voted to raise the county's open space tax for land preservation; however, county taxes on the whole were decreased by 6.6% during his tenure. He successfully pushed for the dismissal of an architect hired to design a new jail, saying that the architect was costing taxpayers too much money. The architect then sued Christie for defamation over remarks he made about the dismissal.^[16]

In 1995, Christie announced a bid for a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly; he and attorney Rick Merkt ran as a ticket against incumbent Assemblyman Anthony Bucco and attorney Michael Patrick Carroll in the Republican primary. Bucco and Carroll, the establishment candidates, defeated the up-and-comers by a wide margin. After this loss, Christie's bid for re-nomination to the freeholder board was unlikely, as unhappy Republicans recruited John J. Murphy to run against Christie in 1997. Murphy defeated Christie in the primary.^[17] Murphy, who had falsely accused Christie of having the county pay his legal bills in the architect's lawsuit, was sued by Christie after the election. They settled out of court; nevertheless, Christie's career in Morris County politics was over by 1998.

Lobbyist[link]

In 1998 Christie registered as a lobbyist for the firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci, alongside fellow partner and later, gubernatorial campaign fundraiser Bill Palatucci. Between 1999 and 2001, Christie and Palatucci lobbied on behalf of, among others, GPU Energy for deregulation of New Jersey's electric and gas industry; the Securities Industry Association to block the inclusion of securities fraud under the state's Consumer Fraud Act; Hackensack University Medical Center for state grants, and the University of Phoenix for a New Jersey higher education license.^[18]

United States Attorney[link]

Christie served as the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey from January 17, 2002, to December 1, 2008. His office included 137 attorneys, with offices in Newark, Trenton and Camden. Christie also served as one of the 17 U.S. Attorneys on Attorney General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales' advisory committee.

Appointment[link]

On December 7, 2001, Christie was nominated to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 2001, and sworn into office on January 17, 2002.

Controversy surrounded his appointment; some members of the New Jersey Bar professed disappointment at Christie's lack of criminal law experience and his history as a top fundraiser for George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign.^[19] The extent of the role played by Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, also became an issue after Christie's law partner, William Palatucci, a Republican political consultant and Bush supporter, boasted that he had selected a United States attorney by forwarding Christie's résumé to Rove.^[20]

Christie has stated that his distant familial connection to Genovese crime family leader Tino Fiumara never came up during his Federal Bureau of Investigation background check for his position as a U.S. Attorney; he told The New York Times in 2009 that he had assumed that investigators were aware of the connection.^[21] During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Christie recused himself from his office's investigation, indictment, and prosecution of Fiumara for aiding the flight of a fugitive.^[21] A 2011 commentary on MarketWatch identified Fiumara as Christie's aunt's husband's late brother and said Christie has dismissed the relationship as a "private matter".^[22]

Achievements[link]

Christie in 2004 as the United States Attorney for New Jersey.

Despite the initial misgivings over his degree of experience, Christie received praise for his history of convictions for public corruption. During his tenure, Christie's office won convictions or guilty pleas from 130 public officials, both Republican and Democratic, on the state, county and local levels without losing a single case.^[23] The most notable of these convictions included those of Hudson County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski in 2002 on bribery charges,^[24] Essex County Executive James W. Treffinger in 2003 on corruption charges,^[25] former New Jersey Senate President John A. Lynch, Jr. in 2006 on charges of mail fraud and tax evasion,^[26] State Senator and former Newark mayor Sharpe James in 2008 on fraud charges,^[27] and State Senator Wayne R. Bryant in 2008 on charges of bribery, mail fraud, and wire fraud.^[28]

Claims of misuse of deferred prosecution agreements[link]

Christie has been accused of using his office's role in crafting deferred prosecution agreements to award lucrative federal monitoring positions in no-bid contracts to friends, supporters, and allies.^[29] Questions first arose after Christie awarded a multimillion-dollar no-bid contract to David Kelley, another former U.S. Attorney, who had investigated Christie's brother, Todd Christie, in a 2005 fraud case involving traders at the Wall Street firm, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg.^[30][31] Kelley had declined to prosecute Todd Christie, who had been ranked fourth in the investigation—initiating a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint among twenty traders who earned the largest profits for their company at the expense of their customers. The top three were indicted, as were eleven other traders.^[32]

Christie was similarly criticized for his 2007 recommendation of the appointment of The Ashcroft Group, a consulting firm owned by Christie's former superior, the former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, as a monitor in a court settlement against Zimmer Holdings, an Indiana medical supplies company. The no-bid contract was worth between $28 million and $52 million.^[33][34] Christie defended the decision, saying that Ashcroft’s prominence and legal acumen made him a natural choice. Christie declined to intercede when Zimmer's company lawyers protested the Group’s plans to charge a rate of $1.5 million to $2.9 million per month for the monitoring.^[29][35] Shortly after the House Judiciary Committee began holding hearings on the matter, the Justice Department re-wrote the rules regarding the appointment of court monitors.^[36]

Christie also faced criticism over the terms of a $311-million fraud settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Christie’s office deferred criminal prosecution of the pharmaceutical company in a deal that required it to dedicate $5 million for a business ethics chair at Seton Hall University School of Law, Christie's alma mater.^[37][38] The U.S. Justice Department subsequently set guidelines forbidding such requirements as components of out-of-court corporate crime settlements.^[39]

In June 2009, Christie was called before the House Judiciary Committee as part of its consideration of new regulations on deferred prosecution agreements. In his testimony, he defended his decisions to award no-bid, high-paying federal monitoring contracts to law firms that his critics say constitute a conflict of interest. Christie left the meeting after two and a half hours of questioning, against the requests of the Committee's chairman, stating that he had to attend to pressing business in New Jersey.^[29][40]

Claims of partisan attacks[link]

Christie at a town hall meeting in Union City, New Jersey February 9, 2011.

Christie has been criticized for subpoenaing Senator Robert Menendez during his contested 2006 campaign, just two months before the election.^[41][42] Christie's aides have insisted that they initiated the action in response to an article that appeared in The Record, which reported that in 1994, when Menendez was a U.S. Representative, he had leased his former home to a social service agency that he had helped obtain federal financing.^[41] The non-profit group paid Menendez more than $300,000 over nine years to rent the building. Menendez claims to have cleared the arrangement with the Congressional ethics office, a step that had also been reported previously by New Jersey newspapers.^[41] According to Menendez, just prior to signing the rental lease, he cleared it by phone with a lawyer on the staff of the United States House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Following the subpoena, the lawyer, who no longer works with the Committee, came forward to say that while she doesn’t recall the conversation, it probably happened—and that if she were advising Menendez now, she would tell him—as she apparently did then—that there was nothing improper about the arrangement.^[43] As of August 2009, nothing has come from the investigation.^[41]

Cell phone monitoring and alleged entrapment[link]

In 2005, Christie prosecuted the Hemant Lakhani terrorism case, in which the defendant claimed that he had been entrapped. In that case, Christie's office relied on an informant who had been dismissed by the FBI as unreliable for fabricating claims of terrorist activity. For more than a year, the informant, working with the U.S. attorney's office, solicited Lakhani for access to arms. Lakhani was unable to obtain anything until an undercover agent contacted him and supplied him with a fake missile. In an interview with the public radio program This American Life,^[44] Christie brushed off suggestions that Lakhani was entrapped by law enforcement, defending the Lakhani prosecution.

In April 2009, the ACLU publicized records showing that Christie had obtained court orders authorizing warrantless cellphone tracking of people in 79 instances. Christie responded that the practice was legal and court approved. An ACLU attorney stated that federal law does not address cell phone or GPS use in surveillance and added that the ACLU believes a law requiring warrants for such use is needed.^[45]

Governor of New Jersey[link]

Christie filed as a candidate for the office of Governor on January 8, 2009.^[46] In the primary on June 2, Christie won the Republican nomination with 55% of the vote, defeating conservative opponents Steve Lonegan and Rick Merkt.^[47] He then chose Kimberly Guadagno, Monmouth County sheriff, to complete his campaign ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor. On November 3, Christie defeated Corzine by a margin of 48.5% to 44.9%, with 5.8% of the vote going to independent candidate Chris Daggett.^[48]

Christie took office as Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010. He chose not to move his family into "Drumthwacket", the official governor's mansion, and instead resides in a private Mendham, New Jersey, residence.

On February 9, 2010, he signed Executive Order No. 12, which placed a 90-day freeze on the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) and established the Housing Opportunity Task Force to examine the State's affordable housing laws, constitutional obligations, and the effectiveness of the current framework.^[49]

On February 11, 2010, Christie signed Executive Order No. 14, which declared a "state of fiscal emergency exists in the State of New Jersey" due to the projected $2.2 billion budget deficit for the current fiscal year (FY 2010).^[50] In a speech before a special joint session of the New Jersey Legislature on the same day, Christie addressed the budget deficit and revealed a list of fiscal solutions to close the gap. Christie also suspended funding for the Department of the Public Advocate and called for its elimination.^[51] Some Democrats criticized Christie for not first consulting them on his budget cuts and for circumventing the Legislature's role in the budget process.^[52] In late June 2011, Christie utilized New Jersey's line item veto to eliminate nearly $1 billion from the proposed budget, signing it into law just hours prior to the July 1, 2011, beginning of the state's fiscal year.^[53]

On August 25, 2010, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $400 million in federal Race to the Top education grants to New Jersey would not be funded due to a clerical error in the state's application made by an unidentified mid-level state official. Christie responded by saying the Obama administration bureaucracy had overstepped its authority and that the error lay in an administration failure to communicate with the New Jersey government.^[54] However, information later came to light that the issue had already been raised with Christie's Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, and in response Christie had asked for Schundler's resignation; Schundler initially agreed to resign, but the following morning asked to be fired instead, citing his need to claim unemployment benefits. Schundler maintains that he told Christie the truth and that Christie is misstating what actually occurred.^[55] The New Jersey Education Association rebuked Christie by suggesting that his rejection of a compromise worked out by Schundler with the teachers' union on May 27 was to blame.

During his second year in office, Christie signed into law a payroll tax cut that is projected to save workers $190 million in taxes. Effective for calendar year 2012, the tax cut approved by Christie authorizes the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to calculate a new payroll deduction rate to finance the Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) fund. As a result, most workers will see their TDI income tax reduced from $148 to $61 per year, for a savings of $87 per worker. The changes took effect on January 1, 2012.^[56] The authorizing legislation was sponsored by Senator Shirley Turner of Lawrenceville.

On January 23, 2012, Christie filed the first nomination to the New Jersey Supreme Court of an openly gay man, Bruce Harris, and an Asian American, Phillip Kwon. ^[57] Kwon's nomination was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the first gubernatorial nominee for the Supreme Court in modern times to fail to be approved. ^[58] Two months later, the Senate Judiciary rejected the nomination of Bruce Harris, purportedly on grounds that he lacked courtroom experience. ^[59] The partisan impasse over Christie's appointments to fill the vacancies on the New Jersey Supreme Court continues.

On February 17, 2012, he vetoed a bill that would have legalized same sex marriage in New Jersey. He stated his belief that such a change requires a constitutional amendment and asked the legislature to provide for a referendum on the issue. He also called for creation of an ombudsman to ensure compliance with the state's existing civil union law.^[60]

Continuing the tradition of earlier New Jersey governors since the 1980s, Christie traveled to Israel in April 2012.^[61][62] Media reported his itinerary as including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tiberius, and the Golan Heights.^[63][64] The official title given to the trip was "Jersey to Jerusalem Trade Mission: Economic Growth, Diplomacy, Observance".^[65] The visit to Israel was Christie's first official overseas trip since taking office.^[66] During the visit, which included meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, Christie commented that "[Jerusalem] has never been better or freer than under Israeli control."^[67][68] From Israel Christie continued with his family to Jordan, as guests of King Abdullah II.^[69]

Consideration of presidential run in 2012 election[link]

Christie was the subject of ongoing speculation that he would attempt a run for President of the United States in 2012 by competing in the Republican primaries. He consistently denied any interest in launching a presidential bid. In September 2011, a number of press stories cited unnamed sources indicating Christie was reconsidering his decision to stay out of the race. An Associated Press story dated September 30 indicated a decision on whether he would run for president in 2012 would be made "soon".^[70] In a late September speech at the Reagan Library, he had again said he was not a candidate for president, but the speech also coincided with his "reconsideration" of the negative decision. One commentator at that time reviewed reported support from David H. and Charles G. Koch, Kenneth Langone, and others for Christie's potential candidacy.^[22] Retired GE CEO Jack Welch went on Charlie Rose to articulate his and others' support for a candidacy,^[71] and Langone went on the interview show October 4.^[72]

On October 4, 2011, Christie acknowledged he had in fact reconsidered his decision but then, again, declined to run.^[73] It was "for real this time", as one report put it. "Now is not my time," Christie said.^[74] "New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me," Christie added in the one-hour Trenton press conference held to announce the decision.^[75]

On October 11, 2011, Christie endorsed Mitt Romney for President of the United States.^[76]

References[link]