Eighteen months after leaving office — 18 months after leaving eight years of incredible perks behind — Chris Christie told a group gathered for an event at Seton Hall Law what he really missed about being governor: Getting to cut the line at Newark Airport.
And never having to find a parking spot.
Murphy’s moments
Gov. Phil Murphy spoke with BINJE Editor Tom Bergeron about his eight years in office. BINJE will produce numerous content items — all with an eye toward his impact on the business community. The schedule:
Wednesday
AM: COVID: A defining moment
PM: Energy: All in on offshore wind
Thursday
AM: Budget, taxes and pension payments
PM: Choose New Jersey
PM: The Disparity Study
Friday
AM: His legacy
PM: A last look back — and first look ahead
The lines drew plenty of laughs — but perhaps not as many as the old joke Gov. Brendan Bryne used to tell. After you leave office, he would say, people would use all five fingers when they waived at you.
Gov. Phil Murphy, six weeks or so from the end of his eight-year run, cracked a few jokes when doing a wrap-up interview with BINJE regarding his time in office. But when asked what he really will miss about the office, he offered a poignant anecdote about the power of public service.
Murphy said the gravity of the job is most apparent at the end of the day, when you determine whether you feel good about your efforts
“Most of the ‘feel good’ is the interactions you have with individuals whose lives have been changed by something you did,” he said. “One of the first times that really hit me was early on.
“We were in the Tops Diner and a veteran came over to me. We had just loosened the requirements for medical marijuana, and it now included PTSD. The guy started to well up, telling me that we had changed his life.
“So, the straight line between A, the action, and B, the result and impact in a resident’s life, has been the most gratifying part.”
For the seriousness of the role — and for Murphy, that starts with guiding the state during the pandemic — the governor always has enjoyed his interactions with people, whether they are business leaders, elected officials or residents.
Murphy never misses the chance for a one-liner and appreciates those sent his way.
And while that certainly will continue in his private life, Murphy vowed that his public days are over. He appreciates that Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill will soon have the role. And even though they are in the same party, he intends to give her all of the breathing room she needs to do the job.
From Middletown.
“We’re not leaving New Jersey, we’ll be here forever, but we will not be in the in the bloodstream,” he said. “We’ll go to the World Cup games. (First lady) Tammy (Murphy) is the chair of the host committee, but that’s the exception.”
Murphy, who has long said he will not seek another elected office, said he understands his time in the limelight is coming to an end. He said he’s OK with that.
“I am a big believer in term limits,” he said. “You don’t show up in the second row at a ribbon-cutting in June. That‘s not going to be us. I’ll always be here for colleagues, forever, privately. But as a public matter, no.”
Murphy said he and the first lady will take a trip after attending Sherrill’s inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20. Upon his return, he’ll join a group of ex-governors that includes Christie, Corzine, McGreevey, Codey, DiFrancesco, Whitman and Kean.
Aside from the World Cup, he said he’ll follow his lifelong roadmap for leaving a big role.
“I’ve done this before,” he said. “I left the private sector. I left the Democrat National Committee. I left as ambassador in Germany. My view is, ‘When you’re gone, you’re gone.’
“I’ll bet you won’t hear from me for a long time.”
