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New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie's ability to secure Democratic endorsements supported his overwhelming re-election last year and helped establish him as a 2016 presidential contender, but now a traffic scandal has put the spotlight on his campaign's tactics with local officials across the state.

Interviews with mayors and other New Jersey Democratic officials show that Mr. Christie's allies in conversations that swung from friendly to persistent fostered a perception of better access to the governor's office and state commissions for those who cooperated, while a few who stayed neutral or endorsed Mr. Christie's opponent said they felt locked out. Others suffered no harm.

One question is whether carrot-and-stick political tactics by Christie aides played a role in a traffic scandal allegedly engineered as a political punishment for a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse the governor.

Jersey City's Democratic Mayor Steve Fulop said there was swift retribution when he failed to endorse Mr. Christie. Mr. Fulop, elected in May, was seen as a pragmatist, rising star—and potential Christie ally—in the state's second largest city.

Mr. Christie spoke at Mr. Fulop's inauguration in July, and the Democrat's campaign gave early indications it might endorse the Republican, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The Christie campaign in phone calls, according to one person familiar with the discussions, offered new access to state commissioners, who hold the purse strings for many Jersey City services.

Mr. Fulop decided against endorsing the governor. Within an hour of relaying his decision, the mayor said, meetings with several state commissioners were canceled.

Since then, he said, "nearly every single meeting we have requested with state commissioners with regard to proactive Jersey City issues has been unfortunately rejected over the last six months, along with countless requests we made to the Port Authority" of New York and New Jersey, a bistate agency Mr. Christie jointly controls with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Mr. Fulop's name surfaced when Christie representatives discussed in emails how to respond to Mr. Sokolich's pleas for help during the traffic mess in Fort Lee. "Radio silence," one Christie ally wrote, regarding Mr. Sokolich. "His name comes right after mayor Fulop."

The mayor of Hoboken, Dawn Zimmer, said she was invited to the state capital in February to meet with Mr. Christie and Mr. Stepien. The conversation began with talk about securing federal money for superstorm Sandy damage then turned to politics. The governor, she said, asked her to endorse his re-election.

"It was not that easy to tell him no," Ms. Zimmer said. She told WNYC that after making her decision, she received considerably less money. She originally requested $100 million in grants to help protect Hoboken from flooding — the city was largely underwater after Sandy — but only received $300,000 in return.

Other mayors who didn't endorse the governor said they suffered no harm. Matt Doherty, mayor of the Jersey Shore borough of Belmar, said he never endorsed Republicans, but state officials nonetheless helped his town after Sandy.

Democratic elected officials said they received overtures from Mr. Stepien and Mr. Mowers, now the executive director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee. Their inquiries were delivered in a polite but persistent tone. There were invitations to Drumthwacket, the historic governor's residence.

Anthony Davis, the Democratic council president in Paterson, N.J., said he endorsed Mr. Christie in the hope of receiving more state aid. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303819704579316892
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