The email was sent a month before the local lanes at the George Washington bridge were closed, creating gridlock. Prosecutors allege the move was retribution because the mayor would not endorse the governor.
NEWARK -- David Wildstein, on the stand in federal court for the second day in the Bridgegate trial, testified Monday he had long viewed Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich as an opportunity.
A high-level political appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Wildstein was working on the efforts led by the Christie administration to seek Democratic endorsements for the governor as he ran for the second term.
Wildstein said he believed Sokolich could be convinced to come on board.
In 2011, Wildstein said he saw the three, local lanes set off by orange traffic cones being set aside for cars and trucks heading for the George Washington Bridge, a light bulb went off.
"I thought it would be a potential leverage point against Mayor Sokolich sometime down the road," he testified.
In September 2013, when Sokolich ultimately said "no" to an endorsement, Wildstein said he decided to use that leverage, by shutting down some of those lanes. The move froze traffic for days and also sent a message to the mayor, he said.
He said he put it into play after receiving an email a month earlier from Bridget Anne Kelly, an aide to Gov. Chris Christie. The email stated it was "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."
"Did you think Miss Kelly was joking?" he was asked by assistant U.S. attorney Lee Cortes.
"No, sir, I did not," he responded.
Wildstein, the government's key witness in the Bridgegate trial now playing out in federal court in Newark, has already pled guilty in the scandal that has enveloped the Christie administration and led to charges against two former members of the governor's inner circle.
On trial are Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority, and Kelly, who served as Christie's deputy chief of staff. They are charged with conspiracy and fraud in connection with the lane closures, in a scheme of political retribution.
Continuing his testimony Monday of the events that led up to the traffic nightmare in Fort Lee, Wildstein detailed how the administration used Port Authority resources to bolster political support among Democrats seen as friends of Christie.
Under questioning by Cortes, he detailed messages he sent to Bill Stepien, then head of the governor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. of the support Sokolich had expressed to Wildstein during a private tour of Ground Zero.
"I am a Democrat. Chris Christie is a great guy. I don't mind saying that," he said Sokolich told him.
Stepien, who later would move to head the governor's re-election campaign, responded: "It's good to be an incumbent with stuff to offer ..."
The use of Port Authority resources such as grants, tours, and the giveaway of surplus equipment, was part of Wildstein's daily responsibilities. He testified that grants were given to Essex County for park improvements in support of County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, who later endorsed Christie.
Sokolich came on the radar early on, and was the recipient of two Ground Zero tours for himself and family members, the assignment of a Port Authority police officer to help direct traffic after the mayor complained one year of traffic backups, grants for shuttle buses, as well as tickets from the governor's office for New York Giants football games.
He said Sokolich was viewed as a good guy. "A solid guy. And the governor really likes him," he testified.
But as the mayor continued to hold back on an endorsement, he finally brought up the "leverage point" of using the bridge to push traffic into Fort Lee with Kelly, he said.
"I made her aware of the potential leverage and that if it was needed to let me know," he testified.
In August, he got the now famous "time for traffic problems in Fort Lee" from Kelly.
He said he did not know at the time what prompted her to send it.
"I remember thinking I was surprised this late that the leverage would be exercised," he said.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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