Christie Ducks Reporter Questions After Ribbon Cutting For New Newark School
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie has made his first public appearance outside of the statehouse since ending his presidential campaign earlier this month.
Christie attended the ribbon cutting for a new school in Newark on Wednesday morning.
"Here's the good news, my speech is going to be short," the governor told the children and educators assembled at the Elliott Street Elementary School.
Construction on the school began in 2014 after the building was struck by lightning and condemned after a July 2006 fire.
The 138,000 square-foot school has room for 850 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
Christie vowed to continue improving Newark's failing schools.
"I will not be content to continue to listen to the status quo," he said.
When he finished the speech, Christie ducked behind the auditorium curtain and gave the slip to reporters who were eager for a post-mortem on his failed presidential bid, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
Christie's only public event since ending his campaign after finishing in sixth place in New Hampshire on Feb. 9 was the state's budget address in Trenton on Feb. 16.
Losing in New Hampshire, despite having spent more than 70 days campaigning in the state, was the final blow for a candidate whose campaign, at points, saw glimmers of hope, but had trouble from the get-go raising money and building support in a crowded Republican field dominated by another brash East coaster: Donald Trump.
Christie had staked his campaign on a strong performance in early-voting New Hampshire, where he headed immediately after his announcement speech, holding well-received town hall events.
He racked up a long list of notable endorsements from state legislative leaders and, at the end of 2015, looked like he was breaking into the top tier after a video of him discussing a friend's struggle with drug addiction went viral.
But when votes were tallied in the Granite State, it was increasingly apparent that Christie lacked the numbers needed to support a prolonged campaign.
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