HILLSBOROUGH — Gov. Chris Christie isn't opposed to collective bargaining by public employees — in fact, he thinks there should be more.

At a town hall meeting in Hillsborough this morning, Christie said he is not getting behind efforts like those being pushed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers.

"As much as the Democratic party and the liberals in the media are going to want to try to make you want to think that New Jersey and Wisconsin are the same, thinking people know that they are not," Christie said. "While I was governor I've said the opposite: lets get rid of civil service and let everything be collectively bargained."

Christie, who garnered national attention when he went to war with the teacher's union, has often been compared to Walker, who is now getting public push back from his own teachers over his proposal to eliminate collective bargaining.

"It has nothing to do with breaking the union, it has to do with shared sacrifice," Christie said.

Christie said he is looking forward to engaging in the collectively bargaining this year with public employee unions. There are 14 contracts, including the largest with the Communication Workers of America, that are expiring this year. Christie has said he looks forward to an "aggressive and adversarial" bargaining process.

"I love collective bargaining, let me at them," Christie said. "Get me out of the cage and let me go."

Previous coverage:

• Gov. Christie says he supports Wisconsin Gov. Walker, but has no plans to try to stop collective bargaining in N.J.

• Editorial: Compared to Wisconsin, NJ taking sane approach

• Moran: An expert weighs in on labor unions, Wisconsin and Christie

• Christie supports Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 'strong action' to balance budget

