“To me, it just bolsters [Christie’s] image of making tough decisions and demonstrating leadership,” Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist and president at Potomac Strategy Group, said. But Mackowiak and others said Atlantic City also presents “a real political problem” for the governor.
The city’s woes are mounting. Four of its 12 casinos closed in 2014, leaving many Atlantic City residents unemployed. A rising unemployment rate — 17.8 percent — is hurting the state’s ability to lower its own rate. New Jersey’s unemployment rate of 6.2 percent is above the 5.7 percent national average. Atlantic City also has a public safety problem: Its violent crime levels are among the highest in New Jersey.
The city’s contribution to state coffers is also dropping fast, a tough hit for a state already facing its own financial crisis.
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