Siekerka seeks reset for business community in Sherrill administration

New administration, new momentum and new optimism for New Jersey.

It’s the hope every time a new governor takes office, and it certainly is the aim of
Michele Siekerka, the CEO of the N.J. Business & Industry Association.

Siekerka, opening the Public Policy Forum sponsored by her group last Friday, said she
is hopeful that Gov. Mikie Sherrill and her team will put business front and center in
2026. She said it’s more important than ever.

“Let’s not mince words,” she said to an overflow crowd at the Princeton Marriott at
Forrestal. “We are coming off of an incredibly challenging few years for New Jersey’s
job creators. Our Annual Business Outlook Survey told us so with continued year-over-year concerns of a lack of regional competitiveness, the increased costs of doing
business, increased mandates on our job creators, regulatory and licensing hurdles and
the list goes on.

“And this past year, for the first time — massive concerns about the cost of energy.”

Sherrill, who gave the keynote at the address, told the audience that her administration is eager to work with the business community. It is eager, she said, to engage.

“We need all of you here to continually engage with the members of this government so
that we can help chart that path forward,” she said. “We do our best work, not when we
sit in Trenton behind closed doors and come up with great ideas — when we’re out
across New Jersey, speaking to each and every one of you and hearing, ‘Is this policy
working? Is this getting us what we thought it would?’”

Siekerka, touting NJBIA’s efforts to advocate, did not always get an audience from the
Murphy administration, which often kept BIA, and the business community, at arm’s
length.

Siekerka pointed to the Sherrill administration’s willingness to review her group’s
Blueprint for a Competitive New Jersey, during the campaign and the transition, as a
sign of progress.

Siekerka said she is optimistic the conversations will continue. It’s a must, she said,
pointing toward its main goal.

“Open and transparent dialogue,” she said. “A voice that is heard at the table — not just
a seat — an intentional policymaking process and better understanding by our
policymakers of the impacts of policy on our job creators, economy and our regional
competitiveness.

“Can we achieve this? I say, ‘Yes.’ Is it easy? ‘No.’ Does it happen overnight? ‘No.’

“But with the establishment of the right process from the beginning, and having the
business community well positioned, as I know to be true, we can develop a trust that
will yield at a minimum, better results.

“We have lots of work to do, but we stand ready. So together, let’s roll up our sleeves
and get to it.”