By CHARLES STILE COLUMNIST
Governor Christie never let a mere technicality, such as lack of authority, stop him from imposing his will on the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners.
Christie stood in his bully pulpit and railed against that agency’s waste and patronage and its ridiculous regatta on the Passaic River. He shook the place up. The overpaid executive director quit. The board of commissioners fled. Some workers ended up in court, like the four arraigned Wednesday in Paterson, charged with sending subordinates to work on their homes on company time. PVSC hacks became the first scalps in Christie’s cost-cutting crusade.
But ask Christie about Rutgers University’s lavish sports welfare — it spent more money on athletics than any other public institution in the six biggest football conferences during the 2009-10 fiscal year, based on data compiled by Bloomberg News — and Christie is content to stand on the sidelines, quietly, like Rex Ryan on mood drugs.
“Listen, I’m not someone who is into micromanaging Rutgers,” Christie said.
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