Corzine names N.J. Commerce Secretary to port authority board

Corzine names N.J. Commerce Secretary to port authority board    New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine said he will nominate the state’s Commerce Secretary Virginia S. Bauer to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners.
   The governors of New York and New Jersey each appoint six members to the port authority board. Board members serve as public officials without pay for overlapping six-year terms.
   Bauer, a former executive director of the New Jersey State Lottery, became chief executive officer and secretary of the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth & Tourism Commission in July 2004.
   Prior to joining state government, Bauer was a financial planning and account management executive at Merrill Lynch.
   In addition to port terminals, airports, bridges and tunnels and mass transit facilities, the port authority built and continues to own the 16-acre site in lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center stood until it was destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
   Bauer’s husband, David was one of those killed in the attack, and she has been an advocate for families of victims and involved in the redevelopment plan for the World Trade Center site.
   Bauer will be “an invaluable addition to this board,” said Anthony R. Coscia, port authority chairman. “Her extensive insight into the region’s job market and economy will be a tremendous asset to us.”