Working the room: Ciattarelli wows crowd at BIA event

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli always wants to talk business. That’s been evident for years.

And it’s the reason he made sure he got to the cocktail reception at the end of the first day of the NJ Women Business Leaders Forum sponsored by the N.J Business & Industry Association.

“It’s a priority for me to be at any type of business event,” he told BINJE. “I’ve made it very clear that I’ll be the most pro-business governor we’ve ever had. We’ll have a pro-business administration with pro-business policies. We need to grow our economy.”

He didn’t get any argument from the hundreds of business leaders at the event at the DoubleTree Hilton in Franklin.

Especially NJBIA CEO Michele Siekerka.

“We invited both campaigns to come tonight and meet the women who were going to be here, because, as we say at BIA, we want to put business at the center,” she said. “Over the course of the day, we had over 500 women business leaders here. It’s critically important that we have an informed electorate, so we invited both candidates.”

To be clear, the candidates were told they would not get a chance to speak – but only an opportunity to work the room.

Ciattarelli did just that, speaking to dozens of female business leaders.

But his most intriguing conversation may have come with Krstyal Cordero.

She doesn’t own a business, but she is of some influence. Especially when it comes to veteran affairs. Cordero, who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq, Afghanistan and Latin America, explained the needs of veterans to Ciattarelli.

“I’m hoping that whoever is in control of our state, they ensure that the veterans are being taken care of,” she said. “I feel like we’re a forgotten entity. The country calls on us for protection, but nobody protects us when we come back home.

“When we come back home, we start losing a sense of purpose. And if we don’t feel like we’re being taken care of, or even cared about, we lose ourselves. That, unfortunately, is how suicide happens.”

Cordero, who said she has had conversation with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, a Navy veteran, said her support will go to whoever is better supportive of veterans.

Cordero said he was glad to have gotten just a few minutes with Ciattarelli.

Siekerka was, too.

She said the conversation was a bonus to an already impactful day.

“For someone that young, that articulate and that intelligent to get a few moments with someone who could be the next governor is amazing,” she said.

“This event is all about making connections – and we thought it was important to provide the opportunity for the candidates to make connections as well.”

Sherrill was unable to attend.