New Jersey Lottery Commission executive director Virginia Bauer will be nominated today to run the troubled Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, according to six McGreevey administration and business sources.
Bauer is scheduled to meet privately with business leaders at Drumthwacket today before a news conference where Gov. James E. McGreevey is set to name her to replace the Rev. William Watley, who resigned Wednesday, people with knowledge of the nomination said.
Bauer, 48, is an unexpected choice to replace Watley, who was criticized by prominent business owners and industry group as ineffective and lacking business experience beyond managing St. James AME Church in Newark.
A one-time financial planner and account manager at Merrill Lynch, she was appointed to the lottery post in August. McGreevey also called on her to help push a plan through the Legislature to overhaul the old Department of Motor Vehicles.
She is best known as a vocal advocate for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Her husband, former Cantor Fitzgerald employee David Bauer, was killed in the World Trade Center.
"She's vibrant, energetic, articulate and credible. She's an advocate," said one McGreevey official. "She can communicate well on television or in a boardroom. She is really going to sell the team and sell New Jersey."
Watley resigned three weeks after criminal investigators raided the Commerce Commission offices in a probe into the actions of Watley's former senior vice president and chief of staff, Lesly Devereaux. Devereaux is also the attorney for Watley's church. The probe is ongoing. Watley has resumed his pastoral duties at St. James.
Rich Goldberg, president of the state Commerce and Industry Association, said New Jersey businesses want an advocate at the Commerce Commission who has the ear of the governor to fight fees and taxes.
"She has a financial background; she was a strong advocate for the families of 9/11. That's what we need," said Goldberg, who is also chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. "She seems to have the experience in advocacy and the financial experience."
Al Koeppe, chairman of the state Economic Development Authority and a frequently mentioned candidate for the Commerce Commission post, said the commission most needs a seasoned business executive.
"Those that would look for kind of a business advocate, closer to a cheerleader model, are making a mistake," he said. "The best secretaries of commerce over the years have really understood the bottom-line decisions that businesses need to make.
"You need somebody that's been there and can speak the language and knows what it's like to do business in the state."
Koeppe said Bauer would need a seasoned government bureaucrat to help her overhaul the agency's structure and financial controls. "I would make sure I have a good No. 2 there," he said.
McGreevey officials close to Bauer's nomination said the state already has a strong economic team, anchored by respected economic advisers, such as State Treasurer John McCormac, Sports Authority boss George Zoffinger and financial expert Tony Coscia.
Bauer, they said, would be the team's top salesperson.
Bauer was thrust into the spotlight after she lost her husband in the Sept. 11 tragedy and became a high-profile advocate for other families in Washington. In that role, she worked with former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, and developed friendships with his two top aides, Jamie Fox and Eric Shuffler.
Fox and Shuffler are now McGreevey's two top aides and administration officials said those relationships ensure Bauer access to the top levels of government.
And McGreevey is resigning...