Governor Christie: Sandy Did Not Destroy Our Spirit

State of the State - Trenton, 1-8-2013 (Transcript Below) Governor Christie: Sandy may have damaged our homes and our infrastructure, but it did not destroy our spirit. The people of New Jersey have come together as never before. Across party lines. Across ideological lines. Across ages and races and backgrounds. From all parts of our state. Even from out of state. Everyone has come together. So today, let me start this address with a set of "thank yous" from me on behalf of the people of this great state. First, I want to thank the brave first responders, the National Guard, and emergency management experts from around the state who prepared us for this storm and kept us safe in its aftermath. I want to thank the members of this Legislature for their cooperation in answering Sandy's challenges and for being by my side as I toured so many of the devastated areas of our state. Thank you members of the Legislature for standing together for the people of New Jersey. I want to thank the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, the Southern Baptists, the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross -- who helped us deliver over one million pounds of food and over five million meals and snacks to families who needed them. They are part of a network of organizations, a family really, who make life better in New Jersey every day -- and they really came through when the times were toughest. Thank you to them. I want to thank the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the state Chamber of Commerce, the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey and the National Federation of Independent Businesses -- for keeping us in touch with the needs of small businesses in the wake of the storm, so New Jersey can help get these businesses back on their feet as soon as possible and working again for the people of this state. Thank you to those great organizations. I want to thank the 17,000, 17,000, out-of-state utility workers who came to New Jersey from all over America. You saw them, in their trucks, on your streets, and they joined with 10,000 of our own to get power restored as quickly as possible -- so that within nine days of this horrific storm, electric power had been restored to 90% of New Jersey's customers. Let me thank all of the Governors, Republicans, and Democrats from across America who sent their utility workers here, and let me thank those utility workers who worked 18 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure New Jersey got back to normal. I want to thank the members of my cabinet and my senior staff, who for days before the storm and weeks after it, put their own personal losses aside, worked 18 hours a day and slept very little. They led their departments and their dedicated colleagues in putting the safety and well-being of others ahead of their own. New Jersey and I were both well served by these great, great group of public servers. To everyone who opened their homes, who assisted senior citizens, who fed their neighbors, who counseled the grief-stricken, or pitched in to clear debris, remove sand, or get a school back opened, I say "thank you to all of you." See, you have helped define New Jersey as a community, one which -- when faced with adversity -- rolls up its sleeves, gets back to work, and in word and deed shows that New Jerseyans never, ever give up.