Breakfast Fit For a Governor in Mendham

The Mendham Township Library found the secret to a successful fundraiser. It asked the governor to breakfast.

Chris Christie was at the Brookside Community Club for the first annual Breakfast with the Governor at 8:30 a.m. on March 26. The event, which was not open to the press, had sold out all 125 tickets by the end of last week. The cost to attend was $75 a plate. 

Christie was there not only as the Governor of New Jersey, or even as a former Morris County Freeholder. Christie was there as a resident of Mendham supporting the Mendham Township Library.

The parking of the center was full by 8 a.m. as people filed in awaiting the Governor’s arrival. Members of Christie’s protective detail checked the entrances and walked the path the Governor was going to enter.

But save for one uninvited Patch editor, there were no other security issues. The gathering caused no disruption to residents, as the Mendham Township Police were prepared.

“We plan to have an officer in the area to assist if there are any traffic issues,” Lieutenant Vito Abrusci said the night before the event. “We will not be adding any extra patrols or incurring any additional cost.”

And it was Abrusci himself who was on hand outside the Community Club, but the Lieutenant said that was part of the normal routine for the morning, assisting students walking to school as well as residents jogging and walking their dogs.

When it comes to the Governor’s security, Abrusci said the state police on the protection detail have everything under control.

“There shouldn’t be any security issues,” Abrusci said. “We have a good rapport with the NJSP protection unit and assist them as needed.”

Christie has lived in New Jersey his entire life. Born in Newark and raised in Livingston, Christie and his wife Mary Pat now reside in Mendham, where they are raising their four children, Andrew, Sarah, Patrick and Bridget.  

Christie entered the gathering to a loud ovation and left nearly an hour later to another round of applause. As he exited, he smiled and shook hands with a few residents who were waiting by his Suburban.

Those who attended the fundraiser received more than a breakfast with their neighbors on a sunny March morning. Those who were there got to see Chris Christie as one of their own, giving of his time in support of his community.