Atlantic County's two assemblymen on Monday called on the Christie administration to create an economic development team to attract aviation companies to the region and the state.
Assemblymen John Amodeo and Vincent Polistina, both R-Atlantic, said in a letter to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno that New Jersey needs to take advantage of federal funding of NextGen aviation navigation research at the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Egg Harbor Township.
The state, particularly the N.J. Economic Development Authority (EDA), should work to attract aviation and technology businesses, they said. However, New Jersey may be ceding the advantage of billions of dollars in federal NextGen investment to other states, particularly Virginia, Amodeo and Polistina said.
They provided Guadagno, the business point person for Gov. Chris Christie, with a copy of Virginia's 54-page strategic plan for aviation technology development. The document cites NextGen as providing opportunities for business recruitment and creating jobs.
"It is striking to us that the words ‘aviation' and ‘NextGen' do not even appear in N.J. EDA's 2010 annual report," the assemblymen's letter said. "We understand the need to promote the development of all sectors of the economy ... but we have a unique case.
"We were given an initial advantage in this high-tech sector," they said. "New Jersey should be beating the NextGen drum louder than Virginia."
NextGen, the legislators said, "deserves a team who will live, eat, sleep, and breathe aviation jobs."
The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, refers to technologies meant to improve air travel by replacing the ground radar system with a satellite-based system.
The Federal Aviation Administration has made the technical center the nation's lead research facility on NextGen technologies, and has proposed $4.3 billion in contracts for the overall project being undertaken at facilities around the nation.
The South Jersey Economic Development District is building a $300 million Aviation Research and Technology Park at the FAA's Hughes center to house technology businesses and create jobs.
Polistina said the state should be marketing those facts to attract aviation companies.
"Despite New Jersey's home-field advantage, other states are acting more assertively to make NextGen projects a larger part of their job creation portfolios," the lawmakers' letter to Guadagno said.
"Our fear is that the state is not being aggressive enough in attracting companies," they said.
However, Fred Snowflack, a spokesman for Guadagno, said the lieutenant governor would have no comment on the lawmakers' proposal.
A state EDA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Amodeo and Polistina also called for New Jersey to join the Aerospace States Association, a nonpartisan organization of lieutenant governors and other high-ranking state officials who represent states' interests in federal aerospace development and policy. The association promotes aviation-related economic development opportunities in its member states.
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