Ex-Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly of ‘Bridgegate’ scandal makes run for local office

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Bridget Anne Kelly, the former aide to ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, says she is "going to the taxpayers to ask them to hire" her, following her legal exculpation in the yearslong Bridgegate scandal.

Kelly announced late last month that she is seeking the Republican nomination for Country Clerk in Bergen County, N.J., in an effort to reenter the political arena.

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The former Christie aide caught national attention in 2013 for her alleged involvement in the Fort Lee traffic jam – a political scandal where she, along with two other political staffers, were convicted of purposefully blocking traffic in retribution against the town’s Democratic mayor, Mark Sokolich, who did not support Christie’s reelection.

Kelly, who sent the infamous email that said, "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," was originally sentenced to 13 months. But her conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court.

"My life prior to Bridgegate was 20 years of public service," she told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo Thursday. "It’s a natural progression for me."

The New Jersey native said expects the "glare" of Bridgegate will be difficult, but not unexpected, during the campaign, adding that she believes she was stuck with the stigma of scandal in a harsher light than the men involved in the case.

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But with a record-setting 17 GOP females being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the Nov. 3, 2020, general election, she is hopeful she will overcome her tarnished past.

"I think now, women are no longer afraid to stand up, for their beliefs and for themselves," Kelly said Thursday.

The former Christie aide said that she has also received "overwhelming" support for her nomination, adding that many of the women who have reached out to her are "no longer afraid of my former employer."

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"That was a big part of the last seven years, a lot of Republican women that I was friends with and close with were afraid to reach out," Kelly told FOX Business.

"Women are no longer fearing retribution from men of higher stature than they," she added.