While first ladies are more often found cutting ribbons and reading to schoolchildren, Mary Pat Christie focuses on a tougher crowd
NEWARK — The recovering addicts filed into the basement room of a drug rehabilitation center in Newark. They sat on folding chairs under fluorescent lights and, one at a time, stood to share their stories.
Some women had lost custody of their children. Others had slept in the streets and suffered sexual abuse. And several had spent time behind bars after committing crimes to feed their addictions.
This wasn’t a typical therapy session. One of the seats was taken not by a fellow addict, but New Jersey’s first lady, Mary Pat Christie.
There were no television cameras or reporters. Weeks later, Tiffany Walker, a recovering addict who met Christie that day, was still surprised to see her there. "I mean, she’s the first lady!"
After all, first ladies are more often found cutting ribbons or reading to schoolchildren. And while Christie has done those things, too, she’s focused on something else: helping ex-offenders and recovering addicts return to normal life.
"I think people are scared by the criminal justice system. They’re scared to help this population," she said in an interview with The Star-Ledger. "I see it as a population that we have no choice but to help."
First ladies have tackled serious issues before: Mary Jo Codey discussed mental illness while Sen. Richard Codey was governor, and Michelle Obama targets childhood obesity from the White House.
But Christie, 47, has chosen an unusually gritty topic, one that places her in the midst of an ongoing debate over how to reduce the high number of former inmates returning to prison for new crimes.
Those working with ex-offenders say her involvement can be a game changer.
"By virtue of being the first lady, there is the power of persuasion, the power of influence, and the power of symbol," said former Gov. James E. McGreevey, who was also at the Newark meeting. "When Mary Pat Christie sits with a group of 20 women who are chronically addicted ex-offenders in the basement of a building in Newark, N.J., she changes the equation."
Although she said she doesn’t help make policy, she has unparalleled access to the state’s number one decision maker — her husband, Gov. Chris Christie. As she reminded people at a recent event in Trenton, "The governor will have my ear on this."
More than 12,300 people were released from New Jersey prisons last year. If past experience is any measure, nearly 60 percent will be arrested again after three years. Half will be reincarcerated at an average cost of $48,000 a year.
The governor, a former corruption-busting U.S. attorney, has remained primarily focused on financial problems like the state’s underfunded pension system. But behind the scenes, his administration has been examining the problem, working with the Manhattan Institute to develop a new plan to keep ex-offenders in the workforce and out of prison. A draft report being prepared for the administration, revealed by The Star-Ledger last week, recommends giving the governor’s office a lead role in coordinating law enforcement and social service efforts to help ex-offenders.
"Anything that we can do to reclaim lives that can be lost to drug abuse and prison would be a great thing to do on a humanitarian level," the governor said in an interview. "Secondly, it’s certainly an economic factor. If we can turn these people from being economic drains into productive citizens, it’s great for the economy."
After the 2009 election, the Christies discussed issues Mary Pat could be involved in as first lady. "This reentry thing is what has grabbed me because the rate of recidivism was terrble," she said. "The fact that these kids — now adults, really — are going right back into a prison population — the madness had to stop."
So as the governor combats public employee unions and tangles with the Democratic-controlled Legislature, Mary Pat Christie is visiting rehabilitation centers, training programs and a church where fugitives turned themselves in to settle warrants. In a sense, the governor said, she’s the ideal person for the job — after 25 years of marriage, Mary Pat knows him very well.
"She’s got a good sense of what I like, what I’m willing to do and not willing to do," he said. "She’s definitely being a bit of a fact finder for me on this."
Because of that, Christie’s efforts can provide hints as to the direction her husband’s administration may take. She didn’t prescribe specific remedies during an interview, but discussed the importance of education, self reliance and drug treatment.
It’s an issue the Christies have been involved in for awhile. The governor previously served on the board of Daytop, a treatment program for teenagers based in Mendham, where the Christies live. The first lady, who works part time at the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, was involved in the annual gala.
Executive Director Jim Curtin recalled that Chris Christie helped one Daytop graduate get an internship at the U.S. attorney’s office. "When you have people like Mary Pat and Gov. Christie, it helps to reduce the stigma," he said.
GOODWILL MISSION
Earlier this month, the first lady visited YouthBuild, a training and education program for troubled teenagers at Isles. Trailed by two State Police troopers and a handful of staff members, she briskly toured the recently renovated building.
"Excited to meet you. Really excited to meet you," she said to her shy tour guide. As she popped into classrooms, the first lady cheerfully apologized for the interruption and introduced herself as just "Mary Pat," leaving off her famous last name.
Many of the students had struggled to leave behind drugs and violence to attend classes there. Shafiea Evans said she was "at home, playing the Xbox 360, smoking, drinking, sleeping all day" before starting at Isles. Equalle Queen said, "I was living life — fast." He added, "But I’ve slowed down."
The students brought a world-weary skepticism to the first lady’s visit, as impressed as they were to have her.
"It was nice and all. But is she going to do the stuff she talked about?" Starr Dasman said. "If I had her number, I’d call and ask her if she was going to really do it."
Judging by a roundtable discussion Christie had with YouthBuild leaders, there’s a yawning gap between the needs of urban youth and services available.
"This is what we call the invisible population," said Robert Clark, executive director of a Newark program. "Until they get locked up or wind up in the hospital, we don’t know they exist."
Everyone wanted the first lady’s help. Can she call a congressman? Help secure funding? Support changes to charter school rules?
She didn’t make any promises. But she promised to keep them in mind.
"I’m going to think about if there’s a way to solve that problem," she said. "Education is clearly a priority for the governor."
Afterward, in another room, the first lady talked privately with Marty Johnson, the Isles president.
"This is totally up my husband’s alley," she said.