Christie names a key cabinet officer: treasurer

NEWARK, N.J. - Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie nominated Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff to be state treasurer yesterday, handing the former New York state taxation official the massive task of restoring financial balance to New Jersey.

The new administration will inherit a budget with an $8 billion to $10 billion shortfall, a pension system sliding toward insolvency, and a bonded-debt load of nearly $34 billion.

With such challenges as a backdrop, and the promise of tax relief driving Christie's victory last year, the treasurer figures to play one of the most prominent roles in the cabinet.

Christie said that New Jersey's fiscal policies had been "a failure" for a decade, but that he saw opportunity for dramatic change.

"I absolutely believe in this: A small band of people who are intent upon leading can really change the course of history," Christie said at Seton Hall Law School, his alma mater.

Sidamon-Eristoff and Christie's economic advisory team, also introduced yesterday, showed similar optimism, a trait that the incoming governor said was crucial in his treasurer.

"He understands that this is a difficult, difficult job to do, but he also saw this as an extraordinary opportunity for us to reform and reshape government," Christie said.

Sidamon-Eristoff thanked Christie for giving him the chance to "turn these challenges into opportunities for fundamental restructuring and reform of New Jersey's state finances."

Robert Grady, who will lead a five-person Council of Economic Advisers that Christie intends to create, spoke in similar terms.

"Despite our challenges, we have the tools here in this state to be the home for growth," said Grady, a former aide to Gov. Thomas H. Kean and President George H.W. Bush who was the administration's first choice for the Treasury job.

He cited New Jersey's educated population, universities, and transportation system as strengths to be capitalized on.

Sidamon-Eristoff, 46, was commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance under Gov. George S. Pataki. Earlier, he was commissioner of finance for New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and was elected a city councilman three times.

He most recently has been an investor and consultant.

He lives in Manhattan, but Christie said he has a New Jersey connection through his undergraduate years at Princeton University.

Along with the deficit, pension, and borrowing problems weighing on state finances, Christie on Tuesday will inherit an unemployment fund that is nearly out of money and a current-year budget on shaky ground.

Gov. Corzine in December proposed $839 million in budget cuts to keep the spending plan in balance, but $260 million of the savings - intended as cuts to school aid - has yet to materialize because it requires legislative action.

Christie has revealed few specifics of how he intends to close the budget gaps, but has painted an overall philosophy of cutting spending and taxes.

As an example yesterday, he pointed to his state health coverage, which he said will cost $2,600 a year.

The state's generous plan, he said, is "not sustainable."

"We have to bring New Jersey into the real world, and that's not the real world," Christie said.

Two common solutions for past governors seeking to close budget gaps have been ignoring pension obligations, and borrowing. Christie has indicated pension funding may be skipped in the coming year, but he said he intends to tackle that problem - a $34.4 billion long-term shortfall at last measure - along with the state debt.

"We're going to deal with all of them," Christie said, but cautioned that it would take time. "They're not magicians," he said of his staff.

Sidamon-Eristoff, for one, asked reporters to hold off on "arcane" budget questions until he had had further briefings. He still has to find a home in the state, and his appointment will require Senate confirmation.

He will also have to work with Democratic lawmakers who control the Legislature, a point stressed by Assembly Budget Chairman Louis Greenwald (D., Camden).

"Coming from New York, I think he has to learn the culture of New Jersey and the problems we face," Greenwald said. He said lawmakers, more so than any cabinet member or governor, are in the best position to understand the concerns of residents.

He called Sidamon-Eristoff's newness to New Jersey "a deficiency" that "can be overcome if he continues a dialogue with those of us in the Legislature who are on the street and are in direct contact with our residents."

Grady will lead the unpaid Council of Economic Advisers from his home in Wyoming. The panel, which will be separate from an existing board with the same title, will also include former Public Service Electric & Gas Co. president Alfred Koeppe. Koeppe will also chair the state's Economic Development Authority, Christie said, reprising the role he served under Gov. Jim McGreevey.

Arthur Ryan, a former chief executive officer of insurance giant Prudential, will be a third member on the panel, with two others to be named.

The man Christie is replacing, Corzine, also promised sweeping economic change when he came to office, but taxes and deficits still rose amid a recession. Christie said he will be different.

"Leadership matters, it makes a difference, and so we intend to lead," Christie said. "It was a clear choice between me and Jon Corzine. The people made that clear choice, and we are now going to execute on the people's clear choice."