With the state Assembly expected to vote on Speaker Vincent Prieto’s (D-32) Atlantic City rescue bill on Thursday, Gov. Chris Christie (R) took aim at his Democratic rival at a press conference this afternoon. 
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“It is the public sector unions running the show in the Assembly, not anybody else. This game of chicken that Speaker Prieto is playing is so dangerous,” Christie said in Trenton today, per PolitickerNJ.
Christie and Prieto have been trading heavy leather over how to bail Atlantic City out of their $437 million debt for weeks now.
Prieto has previously stated that under Title 52, the state is able to intervene in a municipality that is going to default on their debt payments, calling on the governor repeatedly to do his job.
Christie has of course disagreed, claiming that Prieto is trying to stall an Atlantic City takeover for the benefit of fellow top Hudson Dem Steven Fulop, the Jersey City mayor poised to make a gubernatorial run next year.
Fulop is expected to face off with state Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3), whose Atlantic City takeover bill has already made it through the Senate.
Shortly after Christie’s latest remarks concluded this afternoon, Prieto rebutted and was again unimpressed with the governor.
“The continued rhetoric is tiresome. I still wait for the governor to use his existing authority or for everyone to come to the table to discuss a reasonable compromise to help Atlantic City,” Prieto said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, I’m prepared to move forward with the bipartisan Assembly bill that would represent an effective response to helping Atlantic City while protecting civil liberties and worker rights.â€
Last week, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) penned a letter to Prieto and Sweeney asking the state Legislature to move Prieto’s Atlantic City bill forward.
