Politicians like to mark their first 100 days in office as a milestone moment of when the
honeymoon phase of fulfilling campaign promises ends and the business of governing
begins.
The timeline for Gov. Mikie Sherrill is different.
Sherrill took office at a time when the budget needed a reset like never before — and
the state needed to prepare for the world’s biggest event. Her administration’s focus on
those two issues has been all-consuming.
Both are now done.
She wakes up this morning — exactly six months after her inauguration — with
economic warning signs everywhere.
Last week’s announcement that Mars Wrigley Confectionary was moving its corporate
leaders to Chicago while warning more than 300 that would lose their job with the
closing of their Newark office was just the latest bit of bad news.
It follows the announcement last month that Samsung was moving to Texas. And is part
of a greater trend of layoffs: Nearly 10,000 New Jerseyans have been told their jobs
were ending since the start of the year.
Add it up and you can see why earlier this month, in CNBC’s Best States for Doing
Business rankings, New Jersey ranked dead last (No. 50) in the business friendliness
category and No. 31 overall (behind all of our Northeast neighbors).
Of course, pinning corporate departures and layoffs on the Sherrill administration is far
from fair. Almost all of these moves were in the works long before Jan. 20.
The governor deserves credit for actively working toward streamlining the permitting
process. And it should be noted that the Sherrill administration has made its interactions
with business a top priority.
Its 21-county tour included event after event where Chief Operating Officer Kellie
Doucette heard the good, the bad and the ugly about doing business in the state.
Doucette told BINJE after a number of them that listening to complaints was tough —
but necessary. It’s the only way the state can understand what needs to be fixed.
Her efforts have been well received. As have the efforts of Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell,
who had a recent op-ed in BINJE that laid out what the state aims to do.
Caldwell, of course, already has established himself as a politician who will give
anyone, anywhere a listening ear. It’s a remarkable example of retail politics like the
state has never seen.
But providing a listening ear only goes so far.
While the business community has been quick to publicly praise the administration for
its efforts, it’s starting to sing a different tune. Many grumble to BINJE privately.
Developer Gene Diaz held nothing back in a recent op-ed in BINJE. Expect more of that
to come.
Simply put, it’s now time for action.
Changes — or modifications — to the Aspire program are being looked at. And they will
help.
But recognizing that the business community isn’t a piggybank for the state may help
more. And acknowledging that “revenue-raisers” are actually “taxes” and that they may
be a reason why some companies are leaving, also wouldn’t hurt.
The budget is done. The World Cup is over. The governor needs to make fixing the
economy her next big thing.
The business community is eagerly waiting to see what the next six months will bring.
