N.J. Gov. Chris Christie writes excuse note for 11-year-old

Eleven-year-old Peter Schwartz is too young to vote, but if he could, he’d no doubt support New Jersey’s Chris Christie: The Republican governor actually fulfilled the boy’s request for a note excusing him from school.

Christie’s name has been bandied about as a possible vice presidential pick for Mitt Romney or as a likely candidate for the top job in 2016. He’s also known for his sense of humor and in-your-face style, both of which were on display Tuesday night during a town hall meeting in Garfield, N.J.

There Peter stood and asked Christie for a note to give to his sixth-grade teacher, excusing from school. Now, Christie could have done the whole “school’s too important to miss, kid” routine.

But instead the unflappable governor pulled out a pen, flipped over a “reserved seating” sign and scribbled out the requested note, the Associated Press reported.
Christie said the note asks that the Point Pleasant Beach student be allowed to miss school “because you were with me,” the news service reported.

That’s an excuse that even the most persnickety sixth-grade teacher would be hard-pressed to reject.

On a more serious note, the boy asked Christie what he should do about being bullied by someone in authority. The AP reported that the governor told the youth to enlist his parents’ support and tell the bully’s boss. And Christie added that if that doesn’t work, perhaps a call from the state education commissioner might, according to the wire service.

When the youngster is finished using the note to get out of class, hopefully he’ll keep it for show-and-tell.

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rene.lynch@latimes.com