‘Double dippers’ in New Jersey draw selective ire of Gov. Chris Christie
Joe DiVincenzo styles himself affectionately as Joe D, the Essex County executive who has happily given bipartisan credence to New Jersey Republican Gov.
Jul 31, 2020638K Shares10.8M Views
Joe DiVincenzo styles himself affectionately as “Joe D,” the Essex County executive who has happily given bipartisan credence to New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s calls for far-reaching reform to the state’s public employee pension system. The New York Times profiledDiVincenzo in January, leading with an illustration of his warm relationship with the governor:
“„[he] flips open his ringing cellphone and says “Hey, Gov,” raising a finger to pause an interview as he steps from the room. “We talk a lot,” he says later, grinning broadly, when asked about Chris Christie. “A lot.”
So when the 58 year-old DiVencenzo was found to have quietly “retired” in August in order to collect a $68,856 pension along with his regular $156,207 salary, a practice known as “double dipping,” Christie’s response was notably muted.
“Let’s not just isolate one person on this. Everyone else is doing it,” he said. Of course, “everyone else” hadn’t been advocating for passage of the very law that would’ve made the practice illegal. Asked if Joe “Double D” should be characterized as greedy, a charge the governor has leveled at other allegedly rapacious public employees, Christie responded, “The fact of the matter is everyone defines greedy in different ways.”
But when 76 year-old Lorretta Weinberg, a state senator who ran against Christie as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2009, voluntarily disclosedthat she had begun to collect a pension to supplement her $49,000 salary after losing much of her savings in the Bernie Madoff scandal, Christie said she deservesa “hypocrisy award.”
“She is the queen of double standards,” Christie charged. “No matter how long you’ve been around here, the hypocrisy meter has to tilt on her.”
Last night, union leaders held a mock “retirement party”for DiVincenzo, wishing him “success and happiness” on his “well-deserved retirement.”
Paolo Reyna
Reviewer
Paolo Reyna is a writer and storyteller with a wide range of interests. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies.
Paolo enjoys writing about celebrity culture, gaming, visual arts, and events. He has a keen eye for trends in popular culture and an enthusiasm for exploring new ideas. Paolo's writing aims to inform and entertain while providing fresh perspectives on the topics that interest him most.
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