As opiate-related deaths have soared nationally, Christie, a former federal prosecutor, expanded drug courts to channel non-violent users to treatment, increased access to the overdose-prevention drug naloxone and funded needle-exchange programs.
While his advocacy has earned him praise, opiates’ highly addictive nature continues to draw victims. The rate of New Jersey heroin-related deaths in 2015 was more than double the nation’s, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
“Everyone has the ability to fight back from this disease, but we have to give them the tools to do it,” Christie said at a December vigil in Trenton.
Brian Murray, his spokesman, said a videographer recorded the vigil and two other addiction-related events. He declined to discuss the purpose, and didn’t respond to e-mailed questions about whether the governor’s office had hired the team, and at what cost.
In recent months, Christie has set aside another priority: property-tax relief that would be provided by reducing the amount of money sent to poor districts. Democrats said the plan would decimate urban school systems. If he pitches the plan again Tuesday, Democratic leaders say, their response will be the same.
“I’d really like to not hear the governor say he wants to institute his new school funding,” Senate President Steve Sweeney, 57, a Democrat from West Deptford, said in an interview. “I would like him to keep his commitment to making the quarterly payments. That would be a good way to finish.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.