NJ.com is reporting that the George Washington Bridge scandal is causing Olympic track star Carl Lewis to see his interactions with the Governor's office in a new light.
TRENTON — Three years ago, a plan to make Carl Lewis a “youth fitness ambassador” for New Jersey was scrapped by Gov. Chris Christie’s administration when the Olympic track and field star decided to run for state Senate as a Democrat, Lewis said today.
Now, with the George Washington Bridge scandal raging, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist says he sees a “strong parallel” between his own interaction with Christie and what happened in Fort Lee, and that Christie is an "insecure person."
“I felt like he was trying to intimidate me, absolutely. But I definitely didn’t feel intimidated,” Lewis, who recently moved to Houston, said in a phone interview. ...
“I thought it was going just fine. And when I started to run, when he talked to me on the phone that night, he said ‘If you run, we’re going to have to cancel the program,’” Lewis said.
Lewis went ahead with his run,, despite pressure, but then withdrew after legal issues about his residency. ...
“He called me and asked me to get out of the race. I said I would stay in the race. Then he killed the program and used his secretary of state and attorney general’s office to get me out of the race,” Lewis said. “It’s a pretty clear parallel.”
NJ.com also reports that "Gov. Chris Christie’s administration spent $78,000 worth of attorney’s staff time in the effort to remove Lewis from the ballot.
Drip, drip, drip... time for more popcorn.
4:28 PM PT: Update: For the first minute this article was up my title incorrectly said Lewis alleged pressures came the Governor not his office. The later is correct. Sorry.
4:35 PM PT: Correction of correction: Apparently, there was a direct conversation with the governor. Sorry, for the confusion, I am watching Big Bang Theory with my girlfriend who is very unhappy I am not paying attention to her. I hope others can help me straighten this out. Thanks.