Christie Embraces Budget Strategies He Scorned as a Candidate Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday in Moonachie, N.J., after addressing volunteer groups involved in hurricane recovery efforts. Running for New Jersey governor in 2009, Chris Christie hammered the Democratic incumbent, Jon S. Corzine, for using "one-shot gimmicks" to balance the budget, called it "unconscionable" to take away property tax rebates and railed against issuing more debt for transportation projects, promising to "start saying no to spending." But in four years in office, Governor Christie, a Republican, has relied on the same kind of short-term strategies, diverting money for things like affordable housing and property tax rebates to balance the budget, and tapping funds intended for development of new sources of energy to keep the lights on in state buildings. Mr. Christie made headlines when he declared he was canceling construction of a tunnel under the Hudson River to halt runaway costs, but he has issued more debt for transportation projects than any of his predecessors. Overall spending has risen 14 percent, and while state surpluses nationwide are growing, New Jersey's has shrunk to its lowest percentage in a decade. The state's bond rating is among the worst in the country. Mr. Christie's record is drawing scrutiny now, not only because he is emphasizing that he "restored fiscal sanity" to the state as he seeks re-election next week, but also because of his possible presidential candidacy: As a Northeastern Republican, he needs a way to connect with the party's conservative base, and a strong message of fiscal management could help him offset skepticism about his positions on social issues. Wall Street ratings agencies and nonpartisan commissions, however, have been sounding warnings about Mr. Christie's financial management since early in his tenure. The governor has promoted a "Jersey Comeback," but an analysis of budgets across the country in June rated New Jersey and Georgia as highest in "fiscal stress," in a category called "What Recovery?" "He's posing as a fiscal conservative, and he's not," said Gordon MacInnes, a Democratic former state senator and now president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a liberal-leaning group. He talks about a mythical fact that he has produced four balanced budgets. Well, every governor since 1947 has done that, as the Constitution has required them. That's not the question. The question is, do you balance current spending on current revenues? Or do you borrow against the future to pay for current services? Spending continues to expand. Mr. Christie's budget for 2014, at just shy of $33 billion, will reach the second-highest amount in state history and more than Governor Corzine's did in his last two years in office. Mr. Christie's critics give him credit for progress in one key area: working with the Legislature to pay more toward the state's pension obligations. His administration argues that the state would be in catastrophic shape had he not done so. The governor and the Legislature also limited the size of arbitration awards and the amount by which towns could increase property taxes, and required public employees to contribute more toward their benefits. The administration says these measures will slow the growth of property taxes over time. "The governor did this without a care for the political fallout from special interests that his predecessors and Democratic legislatures cowered and caved to year after year," said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Mr. Christie. That delay and lack of courage carried serious and lingering consequences, which Governor Christie addressed aggressively to date and will continue to meet head-on. And some of those who have watched New Jersey's finances spin out of control over the previous decades - when governors had to raise taxes even in good economic times to satisfy budget demands - say he is moving the state in the right direction. "You can't deal with it all at once," said Joseph J. Seneca, a professor of economics at Rutgers and a former chairman of the New Jersey Council of Economic Advisors. New Jersey got itself into its fiscal problems and an underperforming economy over many years. It's going to take some time to get back, but I think the important first steps have occurred very effectively. But a recurring pattern has emerged in Mr. Christie's approach to budgeting that concerns ratings agencies: The governor bases his spending plans on robust revenue growth, despite evidence of a weak economy. And because he has pledged not to raise taxes, when those revenues fail to materialize, he is left scrambling to drain money from other accounts to balance the state budget, relying on the gimmicks he once derided Mr. Corzine for using.