Last week Ronald Rice Jr. joked about whether the governor was "on crack" in a Facebook note expressing concern over education spending
West Ward Councilman Ronald C. Rice Jr., left, (Courtesy of Re-elect Ron C. Rice) and N.J. Sen. Ronald L. Rice Sr. (Jennifer Brown/The Star-Ledger).NEWARK — The Rice family, a fixture of Newark politics, injected some father-son drama into New Jersey’s political scene today.
Last week Newark City Councilman Ronald Rice Jr. joked about whether the governor was "on crack" in a Facebook note expressing concern over education spending. His father, state Sen. Ronald Rice Sr. (D-Essex), publicly called on him today to apologize.
"I think he’s a little too quick on the keyboard for his own good sometimes," the elder Rice said in a statement. "I’ve been in politics a very long time, and I know that divisive, over-the-top rhetoric — whether it comes from Democrats or from Republicans — can be a distraction from the legitimate issues affecting the people of New Jersey."
Rice Sr. said his son’s concerns over education were valid, but his tone was not.
The disagreement illustrated a generational divide between older politicos and their younger counterparts accustomed to lightning-fast — and often snarky — internet dispatches. Councilman Rice is 42; Senator Rice is 65.
The Facebook post questioned whether the governor would have Newark use some of its $100 million donation from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg to replace state funding cut by Christie’s administration. "Is our Governor on crack? No seriously, is he smoking or drinking something that is illegal or at least detrimental to one’s health?" Rice Jr. wrote. "... Chris Christie is insane!!!!."
Rice Jr. did not respond to messages today, but last week told the website Politickernj.com his remarks were only in jest and a way to draw attention to important issues.
"It’s strange, very strange," Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said. "It’s not really worthy of a response."
It’s not the first time Rice Jr. has taken a Trenton leader to task this way. Last year, he used Twitter to blast Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) for backing away from a doomed same-sex marriage bill. "I am going 2 give him a piece of my mind on the issue of marriage equality," he wrote.
Rutgers University professor and Newark historian Clement Price — himself 65 — said the elder Rice asked his son to apologize for the post "as any respectable father would want."
View full sizeA screen grab of Councilman Ronald Rice Jr.'s Facebook page, showing his joke about Gov. Chris Christie."He’s of a generation who would find such a characterization unseemly and perhaps embarrassing to the family," he said.
Price said the reference to crack was insensitive given the city’s painful history with addiction and the drug trade.
"This kind of rhetoric is off putting," he said. "Our elected officials, on the local and national level, really have forgotten that civility is a cornerstone of our society."
Rice Sr. echoed Price’s concerns.
"There’s a lot of people shooting from the hips right now without thinking through. Even the governor once in awhile has said things that may not come out right," Rice said.
The Rices have had their political differences. Rice Jr. won his father’s West Ward Newark City Council seat in 2006 while running on Mayor Cory Booker’s ticket — the same year Rice Sr. was running against Booker in the mayor’s race. Still, Rice Sr. said he agrees with his son "99.9 percent of the time."