On March 6th, 2024, the American Politics club had the honor of hosting former-Governor Chris Christie on Delbarton’s campus, organized by Hunter Terborg, Brayden Karpinski, and Zeke Ehrenberg.
Governor Christie, a well-known politician and leader, gave a speech and answered questions from Delbarton students about his career, decisions and challenges while in office and since.
Throughout the course of the event, Mr. Christie covered his journey in politics, beginning with law school and the matriculation of his law degree from Seton Hall University. After practicing law for four years, he began working for former U.S. President George H.W. Bush Sr.
As he gained the trust of Bush Sr., he was asked by the Bush administration to organize a trip to Texas, which ended up being an extremely important trip for Mr. Christie’s career. There were many valuable lessons about politics, and it also emphasized importance of having a great work ethic. Soon after Bush Sr. was elected president, he appointed Mr. Christie to U.S. District Attorney of New Jersey.
During his time as the state’s District Attorney (DA), Mr. Christie expelled much of the corruption within governmental politics in New Jersey. After serving as DA for eight years, he decided to run for governor of New Jersey to address the needs and changes that were evident at that time.
The discussion also included a comprehensive overview of Christie’s time as governor, from the unfamiliar experience of being constantly surrounded by security to taking action action during Super-Storm Sandy and capping property tax growth, for example. Christie also articulated that his time as governor taught him that mercy and justice go hand in hand, and that you cannot serve justice without mercy.
Overall, after listening to former Governor Christie, some key takeaways from the extremely informative afternoon are that experience is the best preparation in politics, that being in the right place at the right time can play a pivotal role in one’s career, and that success is based on your own progress.
