Christie Whitman has a big job on her hands.
She's cooking a lamb dinner on Christmas for about 30 relatives.
As for solid reports that she's been picked by President-elect George W. Bush as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, she had nothing to say yesterday.
Caught by reporters on a stairway in the Statehouse in Trenton, Whitman said somewhat testily, "I said when I have something to say, it will be said. But it's not now, and it's not here."
Republican sources say Whitman's nomination as EPA head could be announced as early as tomorrow. But it appears to be a fait accompli.
Whitman, 54, the first woman governor of New Jersey with a year left on her second term, was in Washington Monday to confer with Vice President-elect Dick Cheney and other Bush staffers.
It was said at the time that she was being considered for several positions, but she said, "When there is a time to talk about anything, I will talk about it."
Her impending appointment is not without controversy. Although she is an avid outdoorsperson, a mountain-biker and skier, and touts herself as a champion of environmental protection, her record is mixed.
Critics say her passion for attracting business to the nation's most densely developed state sometimes took precedence over her environmental activities.
Although she has pushed hard for a $1 billion open-space program, she has been criticized for compromising water pollution protections, cutting the budget of the state Department of Environmental Protection and eliminating the job of environmental prosecutor.
But she stoutly defends her record.
"I am happy to have a discussion about the environmental record here in New Jersey any time," she said this week after signing legislation to buy and preserve $8.3 million in farmland. "We have figured out a cooperative way to go forward."
At home, Whitman's departure from the governor's chair would set off political shock waves. Her successor would be state Senate President Donald T. DiFrancesco, a Republican, who was planning to run for governor in November, but with an enormous handicap: Nobody has heard of him.
However, as an incumbent, holding one of the nation's most powerful governorships, his profile would be elevated and he would have a big advantage over any Democratic opponent.
Adding to the controversy over Whitman's impending appointment are complaints by the Republican Party's right wing about her pro-choice stand on abortion.
