NJ Nominates New DOC Commissioner
Gov.-elect Chris Christie announced yesterday he will nominate Gary Lanigan, a former New York City prison official and current fiscal officer for the city’s transportation authority, as leader of the state’s prison system. News from The Star-Ledger.
If confirmed by the Senate, Lanigan, a financial guru, will replace George Hayman as commissioner of the $1.1 billion department responsible for about 25,600 inmates.
“Gary Lanigan has the experience, know-how and determination needed to effectively manage and focus our corrections’ system,” Christie said. “Gary will bring to the New Jersey Department of Corrections an understanding and care that is needed to not only protect the public, but ensure positive reintegration of those currently in the system.”
The department now operates 13 prisons after Riverfront State Prison in Camden was shut last year to make room for development.
Although the inmate population has dropped in recent years, state prisons hold about 400 more inmates than they were designed for, and another 5,000 inmates are held at other facilities such as county jails.The department has faced criticism since a May report from the State Commission of Investigation said it has failed to crack down on gang activity.
Lanigan has worked for several New York City agencies, always in a financial capacity. After leaving the Navy in 1975, he worked for the mayor at the Office of Management and Budget.
He served as assistant commissioner for financial affairs at the New York City Police Department before joining the city’s Department of Corrections in 1994. Lanigan rose to the position of first deputy commissioner in 1998, overseeing a $792 million budget and 12,400 uniformed and civilian employees. He joined New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 2003 as the director of budgets and financial management, responsible for financial planning at the authority, which has an $11 billion budget and 70,000 employees.
The fourth cabinet member named by Christie, Lanigan lives on Staten Island and plans move to New Jersey after the school year is over, said Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella. All cabinet members are required to live in the state.
Hayman has applied to retire on April 1, according to Treasury spokesman Tom Vincz. He started his career at the department in 1983 as a social worker in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, and became commissioner in 2006.
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