New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was n't looking too presidential Tuesday night when he got into a heated debate with a veteran teacher at a town hall meeting . And now the state 's largest teacher 's union is calling him out for his 'bullying ' behavior . 'He 's always taken a very nasty and disrespectful tone with teachers and other individuals who dare to question him at these events , ' Steve Wollmer of the NJ Education Association told NJ.com . 'It 's the one thing that never seems to change . ' Scroll Down for Video . Not being nice : New Jersey Gov Chris Christie ( left ) is being called a bully for the way he interacted with a teacher ( Kathy Mooney , right ) at a Tuesday night town hall meeting . That sentiment does n't ring well with Christie 's ambitions to run in the Republican presidential primaries next year . Tuesday night , Christie appeared at Kenilworth Town Hall to take questions from a group of citizens , when Kathy Mooney , a high school English Teacher from Roselle Park , took the microphone . Ms Mooney , who has been a teacher for 27 years , questioned Christie 's motivations behind a legal settlement with oil company ExxonMobil which could have contributed drastically to the state 's pension plans for teachers . Christie settled the deal for $ 225million , despite the fact that the state had originally asked for $ 8.9billion which Mooney described as 'favoring the affluent ' and 'kicking state workers under the bus ' . ' I know that you could have gotten more money , on the dollar , ' Mooney said . 'Do you ? ' a defensive Christie quickly responded . 'You do know that ? Really ? You know that ? ' Mooney started to respond , but not before being cut off by the governor . A good deal ? Mooney questioned Christie 's decision-making behind a $ 225million legal settlement . The state originally wanted $ 8.9billion from the oil company , and Mooney says that would have had a huge impact on pensions for public employees . ' I mean : Do you know that ? ' Christie continued . ' I wan na know how you know that . Because you 're a teacher , and you 're standing in front of students every day , conveying to them , facts - things that they need to learn . So I would like to understand your analysis of how you know that in a ten year long , court case , that you have enough detail to know . ' Mooney explains that she read about the deal in the newspaper and did not attend the meeting 'to be bullied ' . 'You 're not being bullied , because you 're asking me a question , I 'm going to ask you questions back , ' Christie says , as he continues to dodge the issue . 'He said , `` I 'm not bullying you ' as he bullied her , '' ' Wollmer said of the exchange . Perhaps the reason why Wollmer and his union responded sharply to Christie 's town hall meeting Tuesday night , is that he blamed the union for their role in the current pension system . 'The fact is your union , over the course of time , has asked for significantly higher benefits - more expensive benefits - that your union knew the state could not afford , ' Christie said Tuesday .
The presidential hopeful held a town hall meeting in Kenilworth on Tuesday . During the meeting , high school English teacher Kathy Mooney got up to ask the governor a question about pensions . She asked why he did n't seek a higher legal settlement in a case with Christie that would have contributed to the state 's pension system . ExxonMobil responded by repeatedly asking how much Mooney knew about the deal instead of answering her question .