Spadea: Actions speak louder than words, Gov. Christie

On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie delivered his final State of the State speech prior to the election to succeed him this coming November.

As his poll numbers remain in the teens, the governor is desperate to do something to secure a legacy beyond the guy who failed to make New Jersey more affordable and delivered the largest tax increase on the working and middle class in a couple decades.

His goal now is to distract everyone from the failed book deal, out-of-control borrowing, boondoggle projects, underfunded pensions, and higher gas tax by focusing on the crisis of heroin addiction. He's right that we have a crisis, but standing at a vigil and talking about the stigma of addiction doesn't create more space in recovery clinics for the least fortunate among us.

Under his watch we've seen the bed space reduced dramatically for the less fortunate. All the while, the epidemic in NJ has the fatality rate three times the national average. The governor's big proposal in the past couple months? Spend $300 million on Statehouse renovations.

Oh and then there's the little issue of borrowing up to $12 billion in order to fund, among other things, a couple light rail projects in Hudson and Gloucester counties. Hmm, we know any politicians there? The governor may have taken some issue with my calling him corrupt over the book deal, but what else do you call a politician willing to trade tax dollars for personal gain?

I appreciated the recent comments from Jay Lassiter (heard in the video above). According to his Twitter account, he's a Harvard dropout and a former junkie. Jay knows first hand the struggle of those trying to conquer addiction and he's on the front line helping others. Like me, he's disgusted with the governors "lip service" to a growing crisis under his watch.

More from New Jersey 101.5: