Atlantic City’s relationship with the state is changing.
Mayor Frank Gilliam met with Gov. Phil Murphy met Wednesday, in what Gilliam said he believes was the first visit by a sitting governor inside City Hall.
They talked about everything from the “heavy-handed” state takeover to legalized sports betting and recreational marijuana, Gilliam said.
“It was very compelling,” the mayor said. “He hasn’t changed his position in terms of how he felt but the takeover. He feels it was very heavy handed and is looking to figure out ways to basically change that into a more prosperous relationship.”
The state will never fully be out of the city, considering Atlantic City’s importance to the state, he said.
But the two talked about more of a partnership in moving forward.
Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who as head of the Department of Community Affairs will have much involvement in the city, was not at the meeting. But Gilliam said that is next on the agenda.
Murphy was in the area to sign an executive order directing the state Board of Public Utilities to fully implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act and start moving the state toward the goal of 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.
“Little progress has been made on offshore wind development in New Jersey despite a pledge from the previous administration to facilitate our growth of offshore wind,” Murphy said at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s Wastewater Treatment Facility. “We cannot allow for stagnation in this growing sector of our energy economy and we cannot lose sight of the tremendous opportunity for offshore wind at the Jersey Shore. With this executive order, we begin the process of making New Jersey a leader in offshore wind, a critical step toward achieving our clean energy goals.”
Gilliam said it was a great day in reintroducing sustainable energy to Atlantic City, along with a the myriad topics he and the governor touched on. This will allow businesses, as well as households to once again have sustainable energy available to them, which could possibly decrease the pricing of utility bills for all, to further decrease utility bills energy consumers will want to look at comparison sites like Utility Bidder and others.
That included the mayor lobbying for Atlantic City to be at the forefront for the legalized recreational use of cannabis, since the area has been the first for so many things, like gambling.
“Based on our conversations today, the governor is keeping his word in making sure he more or less works with us moving forward,” Gilliam said. “The state’s still going to have the final decision on a lot of things, but at least the city will have a say in authoring its own destiny.”
