Christie meets with Rendell on economic development

New Jersey Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie has been reaching across the aisle to Democrats since Election Day, and yesterday he reached across the Delaware River to one more member of the opposition party: Gov. Rendell.

The two former prosecutors met for about 45 minutes at the Fairless Hills headquarters of a company that is setting up to manufacture polysilicon, a material used in the creation of solar panels.

Christie said York Tsuo, the founder of AE PolySilicon Corp., was from his own hometown of Livingston, N.J., but decided to locate his firm in Pennsylvania in part because of a more favorable tax structure. New Jersey is often ranked as one of the least business-friendly states in the nation, based on criteria including taxes.

Christie said that he hoped to learn from the best, and that in terms of attracting and retaining businesses, Rendell fit the bill.

"You heard me talk about Pennsylvania being a model for us from an economic-development perspective," Christie said. He and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Guadagno "came here to learn," he said.

Christie said it would be good for the region for New Jersey and Pennsylvania to compete for jobs, but also to work together on initiatives such as marketing for tourism.

On the campaign trail, Christie talked about lowering income taxes and addressing property taxes. Yesterday, he declined to offer more specifics on what he might do financially to try to entice businesses to New Jersey.

Rendell said both states benefit when companies come to the region, noting that 40 percent of the longshoremen in Philadelphia live in South Jersey.

Christie said he had learned from Rendell that there is "no substitute for the involvement of the governor."

Rendell is known for being intimately involved in the process of recruiting businesses to Pennsylvania - sometimes from New Jersey - frequently making phone calls to speak with company executives.

New Jersey business leaders, while hesitant to criticize Corzine, said they hoped Christie's approach would resonate.

"I do know that Gov. Rendell's approach is extremely hands-on," said Joan Verplanck, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. "He would call the CEO of the New Jersey company weekly to make sure everything was moving well."

Philip Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said such an approach could help.

"You have to distinguish yourself, and you do that by the incentives you offer, but also by the attention you give the prospect," Kirschner said. "Everybody likes to be paid attention to, and when that attention comes from the governor, and when you have assurance from the governor that the state will do everything possible to work with you, that makes a difference to a CEO - they remember that, and it impresses them."

Christie and Rendell also talked about the dredging of the Delaware River, which has been a source of contention between the states. Pennsylvania favors dredging because it would create jobs, but New Jersey and Delaware have argued it would hurt the environment.

Christie said that he told Rendell he was happy to listen to his arguments and that Rendell did not ask him to withdraw the state's lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers to stop the dredging from taking place.