WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gov. Christie ignored reporters but got a warm reception from colleagues and some members of the audience today as he arrived for the opening session of the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
Lily Kersh, a state worker from Arkansas attending the meeting because she will be participating in a panel on workforce development, was excited that Christie agreed to pose for a cellphone photo with her.
As Kersh reached out her arm to take the picture, Christie offered to do it instead, saying his arms were longer.
'We just love him. We love his attitude, his honesty and I'd just love to see him go further and we've been kind of following that along and look to see him in the presidential races,' she said. 'Hopefully that will work out for him.'
Christie also chatted with Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky and Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive officer of General Electric, who was the keynote speaker in the meeting's opening session.
Christie arrived in Washington Friday and attended a reception at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce run by the Republican Governors Association, which Christie chairs this year. Asked if he would comment about the event as he left, he told The Record 'heck no' and got into a waiting SUV.
As he entered the ballroom of the conference hotel this morning, he ignored a reporter from the Star-Ledger who asked if David Samson should resign as chairman of the Port Authority. Samson has been a figure in the ongoing controversy surrounding Christie that began with revelations that members of his staff were behind lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, which is run by Samson's agency.
Christie's decision to avoid answering further questions about the controversy has meant he has not done some of the public appearances that RGA chairmen typically do.
For example, the chairman often appears on one of the Sunday morning talk shows when the governors are in town, but that role on CBS's 'Face the Nation' will be played tomorrow by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, the association's vice chairman.
Christie also made three fund-raising trips in recent weeks, to Florida, Texas and Illinois, without talking about any Republican candidates or issues.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Christie will be in his state in late March with a small group of governors for an RGA event at the Park City ski resort.
Asked if he would appear in public with Christie, Herbert said: 'Absolutely. Oh, heavens yes.'
Christie is expected to leave the conference on Sunday, so he will not attend a black-tie dinner at the White House that night. The RGA also traditionally holds a news conference on the final day of the meeting, which is Monday, but it is not clear if that will happen.
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