Tag: chief
Christie Sticks To His Itinerary As RGA Chief

Christie Sticks To His Itinerary As RGA Chief

By Melissa Hayes, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)

TRENTON, N.J.—Gov. Chris Christie said New Jersey’s budget challenges and the ongoing George Washington Bridge controversy won’t stop him from traveling the country to support candidates as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

Christie, speaking at a news conference during the association’s quarterly meeting at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan on Wednesday, said he has no intention of giving up the chairmanship.

Crediting his efforts and those of his vice chairman, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, for record fundraising this year, he said the association is in a strong position to win Democratic-led states.

“Given the success that the RGA has had in the first five or six months of the leadership of me and Governor Jindal in terms of raising money and expanding the map, I don’t think anybody is concerned about whether or not me or Bobby can make the case,” Christie said.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said fellow governors are not concerned about issues in New Jersey becoming a distraction.

“We don’t want him to give up the chairmanship,” she said. “He completely has the backing of all of the Republican governors. He’s been a rock star in a way, not just raising money but going out there and really fighting to tell our story. So we wouldn’t let him step down.”

The RGA announced last month that it had raised a record $23.5 million in the first quarter of the year, topping its previous high of $9.1 million during the same period in 2010. Since Christie took the helm of the association in November, it has raised $33 million.

He has attended fundraisers in Florida, Chicago, Maine, Georgia and Massachusetts. He’s back in Florida Thursday to support Gov. Rick Scott, who is seeking another term. The events were originally set for April 29, but Scott canceled them because of severe rain and flooding in the Panhandle.

Wednesday’s news conference was the only portion of the three-day RGA quarterly meeting that was open to the press.

The meeting — which featured Christie and Haley as speakers at a dinner Tuesday night — is meant to fulfill obligations to donors who pay membership fees to the group. The more they pay, the more access they are granted to governors. The RGA counts pharmaceutical companies, hedge fund founders and industry leaders among its members.

Christie’s appearance at the news conference came the day after he announced he would be reducing the state’s contribution to the public employee pension fund by almost $900 million to help close a nearly $1 billion revenue shortfall by June 30. The governor also proposed scaling back the pension payment for the coming fiscal year by $1.5 billion.

He defended his record, saying he has lowered the state’s unemployment rate — though it still hovers above the national average — and that he has not been able to fully enact all of his proposals.

AFP Photo/Eric Thayer

NBA Chief Set To Address Sterling Racism Probe

NBA Chief Set To Address Sterling Racism Probe

New York (AFP) – NBA commissioner Adam Silver was to face the media Tuesday over the probe into racist remarks allegedly made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling — a key moment for the league.

Silver was expected to announce sanctions against the 80-year-old billionaire, whose alleged comments have outraged players and coaches and sent skittish team sponsors running.

The controversy is coming to a head as the Clippers prepare for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, which will take place later Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Silver, who has been on the job for less than three months, has said Sterling “should be afforded due process just as any player in this league or executive in this league,” but pressure is mounting in the basketball world for a severe punishment.

Sterling purportedly told his much-younger girlfriend, in recordings made public at the weekend by celebrity news website TMZ, that he didn’t want her associating with black people or attending Clippers games with black friends.

“It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?” the man in the recording says, later adding, “You can sleep with (black people). You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want.”

“The little I ask you is not to promote it… and not to bring them to my games.”

Sterling has yet to comment publicly about the recordings.

Clippers players staged a silent on-court protest on Sunday, shedding their pre-game warm-up gear and wearing shirts inside-out to mask the team name and logo. They also wore black socks and wristbands during the game.

The game’s brightest stars of past and present have lined up against Sterling, a real estate mogul who bought the Clippers for $12 million in 1981. The team is now valued by Forbes magazine at $575 million.

“No. He should not continue owning the clippers. #nochance #noway nohow,” Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant tweeted.

Sponsors fled the Clippers on Monday, with Chumash Casino, auto dealer CarMax and others pulling out of their deals.

“These views directly conflict with CarMax’s culture of respect for all individuals,” it said.

Airline Virgin America, insurance giant State Farm, Kia Motors, Red Bull, Sprint and AQUAhydrate, a water brand owned by rap star Sean “Diddy” Combs, all said they would suspend their sponsorship.

So what can the National Basketball Association actually do to punish Sterling, if he is found to have made the comments in question?

While the league constitution remains confidential, some options are known.

Silver can force Sterling to confirm whether or not it was his voice on the recordings, although that could be a lengthy process because voice analysis methods would be complicated and time-consuming.

Silver can issue a lifetime ban and fine for misconduct, or suspend Sterling indefinitely and impose a $1 million fine for making a statement against the best interests of the game.

While the easiest case to make, that would fall far short of expelling Sterling from the league altogether, as some critics are demanding.

It would though at least remove Sterling from a decision-making role with the team in the short term and buy time for tougher alternatives in the coming months.

That could put the onus on Sterling’s fellow NBA owners.

Sterling’s possession of the Clippers would be terminated with a 75 percent approval vote from owners of the league’s other 29 clubs, likely invoking a rule regarding adversely affecting the NBA by failing to conduct business in an ethical or reasonable manner.

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, the NBA’s first Indian-born owner, said on Twitter: “If TMZ recording is true, we must have zero tolerance.”

But making a move to yank the team from Sterling would likely lead to a bitter and protracted court battle, where the league might be called on to prove the team made racist business decisions beyond the allegedly racist opinions of its owner.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons