Bettencourt: Why I'm Supporting Chris Christie

By DJ Bettencourt

SALEM, NH - Granite Staters are very fortunate to have many exceptionally qualified and accomplished Republican candidates to choose from when they cast their ballots in the New Hampshire Primary on Feb. 9.

From successful business leaders to tireless conservative fighters in the United States Senate to tax-cutting governors, these leaders and their accomplishments stand in stark contrast to the Obama Administration and Hillary Clinton.

However, after careful and thorough deliberation, I believe that one candidate stands out among the rest. A leader with a long track record of delivering results under difficult circumstances and one that our country needs to make us economically prosperous at home and will re-establish our leadership abroad. That candidate is Gov. Chris Christie, R-NJ.

Our country faces a litany of serious challenges and how those challenges are addressed will greatly impact the lives of future generations. As I write this, our national debt stands at $18.8 trillion and has more than doubled since Barack Obama took office. This debt is a theft from future generations who will be left to pay it off.

Now is the time for a true fiscal conservative and Christie’s record in New Jersey shows that he is a strong executive leader that has achieved tangible and substantive conservative reforms in a heavily Democratic state. He has produced and successfully implemented a balanced budget every year he has been governor. He did so by cutting spending, implementing pension reform, reducing government and fundamentally reforming the way government does business. This approach and a no-nonsense demeanor are desperately needed in Washington.

Further, Christie is a proven and reliable tax cutter. Notably, he overhauled New Jersey’s tax code and cut property taxes as well as taxes on small businesses. He also vetoed all attempts by Democrats, who dominate New Jersey’s legislature, to raise taxes. According to Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, Christie vetoed more tax increases than any other governor in modern American history. This has helped improve New Jersey’s economic standing and grow jobs. New Jersey’s unemployment rate was 9.8 percent when Christie took office. Today it stands at 5.3 percent, which equates to 224,100 new jobs.

Christie has also been strong on reforming education. His accomplishments include tenure reform, implementation of merit pay for teachers, a growth of charter schools. Additionally, he has been a long-standing advocate for school choice, which will empower parents to make the best educational decisions for their children and give students in the worst preforming school districts an option to attend a better school. He has also come to appreciate that Common Core is not working for our students and has led the charge to implement higher education standards that come from teachers, parents and local school boards.

Finally, Christie isn’t a “Johnny-come-lately” on fighting the heroin epidemic that is ravaging New England and destroying families across America. For several years, Christie has enacted reforms that de-stigmatize substance abuse struggles and place an emphasis on treatment and recovery. Like Manchester Mayor, Ted Gatsas, he has championed the use of drug courts in New Jersey, which give first time, non-violent offenders the opportunity to get the treatment they need rather than serving jail time. This has proven effective in achieving better chances at recovery. His reforms have undoubtedly saved countless numbers of lives.

Along with this track record, Christie has a forward-looking plan to again make America the economic juggernaut of the world. With America strong at home, we will be able to re-establish our leadership abroad. Christie will restore the trust of our allies and strike fear in our enemies. In the end, Christie is the person that I know will work every day to keep my family safe from those that would do us harm.

I am proud to support Gov. Chris Christie for President and believe that he is worthy of your consideration and your vote.

D.J. Bettencourt served as a State Representative in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2005 to 2012 and was the House Majority Leader for the 2011-2012 legislative term. He currently serves as the vice chairman of the Economic Development Action Committee in Salem.