A commemoration event marking the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy got heated when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie shouted down a protester holding a sign, eventually getting so annoyed with the heckler that he told him to “sit down and shut up.”
The local man – small business owner and former Asbury Park City councilman James Keady – stood directly in front of Christie at the event in Belmar, NJ and interrupted the governor several times during a speech. He also held a sign reading “Finish the Job.”
Keady accuses Christie’s administration of short-changing a $1.1 billion federal relief package meant to help residents recovering from the devastating storm.
Christie – known for his brash, outspoken political style – at one point shot back at the heckler. “I’ve been here when the cameras weren’t buddy, and I did the work,” he said. “So turn around, get your 15 minutes of fame, and then why don’t you take your jacket off and roll up your sleeves and actually do something for the people of this state,” Christie added.
Keady says he wants the governor to know that he actually did roll up his sleeves and pitch in in a major way after the 2012 disaster.
“When the hurricane happened, I actually took a month off from work, dropped everything and volunteered to help clean out peoples’ homes,” he said. “It actually reached the point within a day or two, the borough gave me a borough dump truck and I was running all the clean-up crews all over town. So I certainly take umbrage with the Governor’s comment about getting one’s sleeves rolled up and doing the work to help the people of New Jersey.”
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