State’s First Lieutenant Governor Should be Job Creation Chief

By Scott Goldstein

New Jersey this January will get its first lieutenant governor and members of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce are hoping that she or he will focus primarily on making the Garden State an economic juggernaut.

“The lieutenant governor should help address New Jersey’s top priority -- growing the economy and creating jobs,” said Richard Bagger, senior vice president, Worldwide Public Affairs & Policy, at Pfizer Inc. and a former state senator and assemblyman.

“It would send a powerful signal for New Jersey to have its lieutenant governor working together with the governor and across all of the cabinet agencies, as an advocate and ambassador for economic growth and job creation,” Bagger added.

Amy Mansue, president and CEO of Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick, agreed. In a state that has a reputation for high taxes and burdensome business regulations, “the lieutenant governor should be constantly thinking about how (state policies) will impact business and jobs,” said Mansue, who previously served as deputy chief of staff to Gov. James McGreevey and a policy advisor to Gov. Jim Florio. “There is no more important issue than New Jersey’s workforce.”

In November, New Jersey voters will for the first time choose a ticket that includes candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. The new lieutenant governor’s office, approved in a 2005 ballot question, could head a state agency or do whatever the governor asks, according to the measure that creates the position.

The major gubernatorial candidates, as it turns out, did not choose running mates with significant business experience.

Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine chose State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a 17-year legislator who has mainly focused on health and good-government issues. Republican candidate Chris Christie picked Monmouth County Sheriff and former assistant U.S. attorney Kim Guadagno. Independent candidate Chris Daggett nominated Frank J. Esposito, dean of the College of Education at Kean University in Union.

Still, the largely undefined role of the lieutenant governor should deeply involve economic growth – an assertion the Chamber has made since the office was conceived, said Jim Leonard, senior vice president of government relations at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “We want this person to be the major cheerleader for the state,” Leonard said. “We want them to be a deal closer. We want them to be a bird dog for job creation and growing our economy.”

Leonard, who also serves as staff liaison for the government reform initiative of the Chamber’s Platform for Progress, is calling for the lieutenant governor “to spend two hours a day minimum on outreach to those who actually create jobs and drive our economy, and ask them what the state can do to help them grow.”

The lieutenant governor could spearhead a cabinet-level “Competitiveness Council" that would focus on forming and advancing the state's economic development strategies, said Gil Medina, executive managing director, New Jersey region for Cushman & Wakefield in East Rutherford. The Council's members could include the heads of the Transportation, Environmental Protection, Labor and Community Affairs departments, as well as the Division of Taxation, the Office of Economic Growth, Economic Development Authority and presidents of at least two state universities. “The lieutenant governor can hold cabinet members accountable for overcoming obstacles to sustainable, economic growth in our state,” said Medina, a member of Corzine’s Real Estate Advisory Board and a former state Secretary of Commerce. “The fact that this person is chosen by the governor and is elected by all of the people of the state will give them clout and credibility.”

Peter Cocoziello, president and CEO of Advance Realty Group in Bedminster and chairman of the Chamber’s Government Reform Coalition, said the new office should create a program to retain and attract companies. “They should stay in constant touch with New Jersey employers to fully understand their challenges,” Cocoziello said. “And the state should ask those companies for the names of the out-of state firms they do business with, and see if they can recruit those companies here."

It’s not unprecedented. “Several states have given their lieutenant governor’s specific economic development roles,” said Julia Hurst, director of the Lieutenant Governors Association in Kentucky.

She cited examples:

• Indiana Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman is head of the state’s Department of Commerce and has led several trade missions.
• Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu heads the state’s department of tourism.
• Nevada Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki heads the state’s commission on economic development and department of tourism.
• North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Jack Dalrymple heads the state’s international trade group.
• Vermont Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie led a trade mission to Cuba and works to ensure the movement of goods over the Canadian border.

Cocoziello said the New Jersey lieutenant governor can help reverse New Jersey’s negative reputation. “We need to make an overall impression to the outside world that New Jersey is committed to getting business done,” Cocoziello said. “We need to be touting our location and our resources, instead of making an impression as a state of corruption.”

Scott Goldstein is the communications manager for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.