Karen Imas
Director of Communications
CSG Eastern Office
(646) 383-5713

Senator Sean T. Kean (R-District 11) was selected to serve as Co-Chairman of the Council of State Governments' Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC). The term will be for one year to begin on January 1, 2008.

"It is a great honor to have been elected by my peers from the northeast to serve as a leader of this most important and well respected regional state policy organization. It provides me with the unique opportunity to help set the agenda for CSG/ERC in the year ahead as we continue to focus on regional cooperation and collaboration in such areas as agriculture, criminal justice, education, export trade, environment/energy, fiscal affairs, health care and transportation policy. The benefit of this active and collaborative agenda is clear as we seek to be competitive in a global economy whether our states are sharing trade leads electronically, assuring federal funding for Medicaid and AMTRAK, reestablishment of the Northeast Dairy Compact or enhancing support for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.”

One of Senator Kean’s first priorities will be to help plan the CSG/ERC 2008 Summer Annual Meeting to Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 10-13. He explained, “It will provide an exceptional opportunity to showcase our Garden State. My Co-Chairs, Senator Shirley Turner (D-15), Assemblymen John Wisniewski, (D-19th District) and Reed Gusciora (D-15), and I look forward to attracting 500-600 delegates and their families from the ten northeastern states from Maine to Delaware, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and six eastern Canadian provinces from Ontario to Newfoundland & Labrador. It also attracts representatives of many of the region’s and nation’s Fortune 100 companies. We project an economic impact of at least one million dollars for the state and community.”

As a non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 1937, the Council of State Governments' Eastern Regional Conference strives to increase the effectiveness of its eighteen member jurisdictions. CSG/ERC does so by providing a forum for new ideas, promoting innovations transfer, advocating multi-jurisdictional problem solving, offering leadership training, technical assistance and forecasting policy trends affecting the region.

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