BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has taken on another job: he is vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which involves a lot of fundraising. But he said he was not obligated to announce a trip he took to Vail, Colorado to speak at a gathering of GOP conservatives on June 26.

Christie told NorthJersey.com, "I go a lot of places without telling you."

The governor had criticized former Gov. Jon Corzine's out-of-state trips during their gubernatorial campaign, and Christie promised there would now be greater transparency.

But New Jersey Newsroom reported that Christie has left New Jersey without telling the public or news media at least three other times for political occasions since taking office. Christie traveled to New York’s Hudson River Valley in May to meet with Roger Ailes, the head of Fox Broadcasting and Rush Limbaugh about a 2012 run for the Presidency, but did not release records of the trip.

The governor also took a State Police helicopter on May 31 to meet with Iowa fund-raisers about a Presidential run.

During his Colorado trip, Christie said he helped Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver keep her job during the health and pension benefits battles. According to nj.com, the governor stands by his story that Oliver called him for help. Oliver wants Christie to release his phone records to prove she never called him. Mother Jones Magazine released the recordings of the Colorado trip last week.

An editorial published in the Philadelphia Inquirer states Governor Christie has the right to talk to anyone he pleases, go wherever he wants, and think and say whatever he wants, but says his constituents have the right to know about it.

They believe the public has the same right to make their own judgment on whether Christie crosses a line by dealing with people who may want to influence him.