Gov. Chris Christie may not be a fan of James Keady — but the guitarist for an iconic rock band is
TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie may not be a fan of James Keady -- but the guitarist for an iconic rock band is.
Keady made headlines last October after confronting Christie at a news conference with a sign that told him to "Stay in NJ & finish the job" on Hurricane Sandy. The Republican governor famously told him to "sit down and shut up."
On Tuesday, Keady was running a long-shot campaign as a Democratic candidate for a state Assembly seat in the heavily Republican 30th District of Monmouth and Ocean counties.
And halfway through Election Day, he got a celebrity endorsement: Tom Morello, guitarist of '90s rockers Rage Against The Machine, tweeted out his support.
NJ peeps! If you want a public servant who will rage against the machine, get out and vote #keadyforassembly today. @JWKeady @bluejersey
-- Tom Morello (@tmorello) November 3, 2015
Apparently, Keady and Morello go way back.
Keady -- a former Asbury Park councilman and a former goalie for the North Jersey Imperials pro soccer team -- is also an activist. He's a founding director of a group called Educating for Justice, which protests working conditions at Nike factories. He even visited Indonesia to raise attention to the plight of workers in sweatshops.
"I lived with factory workers to see what their life was life," Keady said. "I tried to survive on $1.25 a day."
After Keady's return to the U.S., his story hit the press and was featured on the front page of the Village Voice. That caught the attention of Rage Against The Machine.
Keady got to meet the band, among the most politically outspoken in music.
"Tom and I have been friends ever since," he said of the guitarist, who has previously played gigs at political events with Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen.
Keady, 44, and running mate Jimmy Esposito are facing an uphill battle against Republican incumbents Sean Kean and David Rible. (Polls closed at 8 p.m.)
But Keady noted that while the Democratic party poured thousands of dollars into the close race in the nearby 11th District, his campaign was largely organic.
Morello would be proud.
"Because I don't have that machine in place," Keady said, "I've really just done it all grass roots -- handing out black-and-white fliers, using social media," Keady said.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
