Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

TRENTON - Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, a former Monmouth County sheriff, will head up a not-for-profit "social welfare organization" in what could be her first steps toward a 2017 run for governor.

In a conference call, Guadagno announced that she would serve as honorary chairwoman of Building a Better New Jersey Together Inc., a self-described think tank to find "smart and effective solutions to the challenges still facing New Jersey."

"I knew I wanted to be a part of something that would make New Jersey a better place to live, a better place to work and a better place to raise our families," Guadagno said. "Our greatest assets are the 8.8 million people who live here. While politicians spend a lot of time talking to us. They don’t spend enough time listening to us and engaging with us, answering their cell phone when you call.

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"That’s what Building a Better New Jersey Together is all about – bringing people of all backgrounds, of all areas of our state together in pursuit of new ideas to move New Jersey in a better direction," she added.

Ties to Christie administration

But Building a Better New Jersey Together will still have links to Gov. Chris Christie's administration. Former deputy chief of staff Bill Stepien, who also ran Christie and Guadagno's campaigns, will serve as its executive director. In 2013, Stepien was on an upward trajectory, picked by Christie to head up the state Republican Party and as a consultant to the Christie-led Republican Governors Association. But in 2014, Christie revoked both after emails surfaced showing that Stepien had knowledge of the politically motivated George Washington Bridge lane-closures in 2013.

In a May 2014 statement, Stepien's legal counsel acknowledged that Stepien had advance knowledge of the lane-closures but denied any role in their planning or execution.

According to a WhoIs search, the organization's website is owned by Jennifer Krimko, an attorney with the firm of Ansell Grimm & Aaron PC. The firm's Ocean Township address is listed on the website registration. On the conference call, Krimko was identified as a board member for Building a Better New Jersey Together.

The organization's president is Jerry Langer, a Morris County transportation business owner who has donated $3,800 to Christie's 2013 reelection campaign, according to the Election Law Enforcement Commission. Krimko donated $2,250 to Christie and Guadagno's successful 2013 re-election campaign, according to ELEC records.

Officially unofficial campaign announcement?

The establishment of Building a Better New Jersey Together follows a similar path taken by candidates yet to make a formal campaign announcement. Rider University professor Benjamin Dworkin said it's a way for Guadagno to get out of Christie's shadow and focus on issues that may not be on the governor's political agenda.

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"She's widely assumed to be running for governor in 2017 but she, as with any No. 2, has been constrained by the needs and political directives of the person in the top spot,” said Rider University professor Benjamin Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. “This think tank is a major opportunity for her to stake out her own opinions and her own ground in a nonpartisan way by being involved with issue advocacy and trying to find the right policies as she sees them.”

On the Democratic side, likely candidate Phil Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, has established two think tanks within the last year and made various public appearances with them.

The moves are widely considered to be Murphy's attempts to get out in front of a crowded Democratic field, highlighted by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.

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The political conjecture notwithstanding, Guadagno insisted the think tank was focused solely on solutions – not elections.

“It’s focused on fixing things – not on politics, campaigns and certainly not on elections,” Guadagno said. “Politics are the very thing that get in the way of what our state needs. That’s not what I’m about and that’s not what this organization is about.”

FLASHBACK: Monmouth County sheriff to be Christie's running mate

Before she was elected lieutenant governor, Guadagno served for two years as sheriff of Monmouth County, the first woman to serve in the role.

She resigned before being sworn in as the state's first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state.

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Mike Davis: (732) 643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com.