"I'm shocked," Christie said sarcastically of legislators' exemption of their own campaign funds from the state pay-to-play law.
Other recommendations include limiting how much money county and municipal party committees can "wheel" to other campaign committees, especially those in other counties. Christie said it was a way to hide money and avert the law.
Christie also wants the Legislature to extend restrictions on campaign donations to labor unions that do public work - a strong source of support for Democratic lawmakers. An appeals court ruled in May that an executive order calling for those restrictions was unconstitutional, saying the matter was for the Legislature to decide.
Accountant Gregory Taranto, of Ringoes, Hunterdon County, said at least 20 percent of his clients had left New Jersey because of business regulations and taxes.
He expressed support for Christie's focus on ethics, saying: "The reason that we're in this hole is ethics. There has been so much corruption."
The first question at Wednesday's event came from Marie Corfield, a local teacher, who accused Christie of demonizing educators and balancing his budget on the backs of lower- and middle-class people.
The governor said the state had lost $1 billion in federal education funds while state revenues had also fallen, but the exchange became confrontational.
The governor drew applause when he questioned the justification for teachers' receiving raises of more than 4 percent at a time when many private-sector employees have been getting no pay increases.
Contact staff writer Maya Rao at 856-779-3220 or mrao@phillynews.com.
