Adam Zellner has mapped out a career in policy.
Photo by Marilyn Silverstein
February 21, 2008
A large and detailed map of New Jersey dominates the State House office of Adam Zellner, Gov. Jon Corzine’s new director of policy — a metaphor, you might say, for the ways in which the landscapes of New Jersey have dominated Zellner’s life.
On the job as policy counsel since mid-January, the 38-year-old Zellner is proud to call himself “a Jersey guy.” He grew up in the culturally diverse Twin Rivers community in East Windsor, pursued a secular Jewish education at the I.L. Peretz Community Jewish School in New Brunswick, and earned a degree in economics from Rowan University in Glassboro in 1992.
Then it was on to Trenton, where Zellner learned the political ropes as a legislative aide in state government. (“I was hooked in the first 15 minutes,” he said with a smile.) Over the years, he has served as the deputy commissioner for policy and legislative affairs for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the inaugural executive director of the NJ Highlands Council, and the executive director of the NJ Office of Smart Growth.
Zellner also sharpened his political savvy from 1996 to 2002 as chief of staff to United States Democratic Congressman Steve Rothman, whose district represents parts of Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties. Now, he’s back in Trenton, in a job that seems designed to tap the skills he honed along the way. He is a walking encyclopedia of the issues behind the issues at the top of this administration’s agenda — economic development, energy use, affordable housing, health care, and environmental concerns.
“This office manages day-to-day, long-term policy for the governor,” Zellner said during an interview in his office. “We provide backgrounds and briefings to make sure all the issues are outlined.
“New Jersey is a unique entity,” he said, reaching up to indicate points on the oversized map. “It’s the most densely crowded state in America. It has incredible environmental features and hundreds of municipal subdivisions. You have to know your way around the state. You have to know how the various levels of government interact. If not, it’s very difficult to know how to implement a policy, because you have to know how the policy meets the ground.”
In a very real sense, it’s a job only a policy wonk could love. That becomes clear as Zellner, in his rapid-fire way, gives examples of some of the questions on his agenda: How does the administration’s energy master plan intersect with the transportation and housing industries in the state? How do you take the goal of building more affordable housing and coordinate it with policy on reducing greenhouse gases? How do you make sure all the agencies involved are on the same page?
“It’s about figuring out a strategy to get to the end result,” Zellner said. “What are your goals — the measurable, quantitative steps to chart your actions?”
Get to middle ground
“You have to know how government works,” he said. “You can’t just drop in and try to figure it out. It’s complicated. You have to understand the genesis of what got you there. You have to have an understanding of government and its layers — local, county, state, federal. That’s critical.
“Second, you have to have an understanding of money and how the budget works. And last, you need to have the ability to work with everybody. You have to have a way of working across the lines. The art of negotiating, the art of networking are very important in this job. Government is so interesting, but you’ve got to understand how it works.”
In addition to working with state agencies to outline a clear and coordinated agenda on policy, Zellner has another role — overseeing the work of two staffers whose job is to promote and coordinate the Corzine administration’s policies with the state’s legislative delegations in Washington.
Zellner brings to these challenges his diverse experience in government and his talent for talking, as he said, across the lines. “Having to get to a middle ground among folks who believe in what they’re fighting for is a challenge,” he said, “and that’s one of the things we bring to the table.
“I think the other skill set I bring is that I can help explain policies that are broad and complicated, so people can understand what it is you’re asking of them,” he added. “After a number of years working in the Highlands and the Office of Smart Growth and the Department of Environmental Protection, I’ve developed an ability to bring those issues down to ground level.”
Zellner makes his home in Linden with his wife, Bridget, who is the business administrator of the city of Elizabeth, and their two Labradors, Guinness and Harp. He sees himself as a secular Jew — “Cultural Judaism is probably the right way to describe it,” he said — but he is mindful of his Polish-Jewish heritage.
“I think it’s important to be grounded in where you come from, frankly, and what makes you who you are,” he said. “A large part of me is how I was educated and brought up, and a large part of that is where my family came from. I do see myself as connected.”
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