Abortion Guadagno supports a
pro-choice position on
abortion but would like to see fewer women choose the option of abortion. She herself adopted a son. Guadagno's views on abortion contrast with Christie's
pro-life stance on abortion.
Arts Council allegations In early 2011, after reviewing a routine state audit of the prior administration's affairs, Guadagno publicly criticized the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for its sloppy handling of public art projects, implying that state funds may have been fraudulently awarded. An official state investigation ended in December 2011 with no finding of illegality. But, the insider contracts were cancelled, the money was returned and the director who awarded the insider contracts was replaced by the Council of the Arts.
Allegations of pension fraud While she was Monmouth County sheriff, in 2008, Guadagno hired Michael Donovan, a retired investigator with the county prosecutor's office, as her chief of law enforcement. Under state laws on "double dipping", anyone holding such a position must forego any public
pension they are otherwise eligible to rec. Donovan became the chief warrant officer, in charge of serving
legal process and
arrest warrants, exempt from the pension system. Guadagno argued this saved taxpayers' money claimed that Guadagno had pulled her aside in a supermarket parking lot and directly linked Hoboken's receipt of
Sandy funding to the approval of a large proposed private development project that required substantial zoning changes to move forward. Mayor Zimmer then said that several days later
Richard Constable, director of the
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs also insinuated to her that more Sandy relief funds would be released to the city if it approved the project in its northwest quadrant. The developer, the
Rockefeller Group, has ties with
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chief
David Samson, a Christie appointee and close Christie associate. On February 22 the
Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed members of the city's government and potential witnesses, who were instructed to preserve any evidence they might possess. They were also asked by the office of
United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,
Paul Fishman, to not discuss the matter publicly. On January 31, the city acknowledged that it had received subpoenas from that office. After a 16-month investigation the US attorney for NJ concluded that Zimmer's claims were unfounded. In letters dated May 1, 2015, to Guadagno, Constable and Ferzan the US Attorney wrote: "Based on the evidence developed during the investigation and our review of applicable law, we have concluded that no further action is warranted in this matter. Accordingly, the investigation of these allegations have been closed."
2010 vacation In December 2010, Guadagno went on a scheduled vacation with her father who was dying of prostate cancer, while Governor Christie later decided to go with his family to
Disney World. With both officials out of state, a
blizzard hit New Jersey and
Stephen M. Sweeney, the senate president and a Democrat, had to preside as acting governor to declare a state of emergency. Guadagno and Christie were criticized for both being out of state at the same time. ==Personal life==