Princeton executive catches eye of Hollywood, state GOP

[Star Ledger]

Princeton executive catches eye of Hollywood, state GOP
by Claire Heininger/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday October 29, 2008, 8:38 AM

In the frenzy of their party's national convention in Minnesota in September, New Jersey Republicans had only a few must-attend events on their calendar.

John McCain's formal acceptance of the presidential nomination was one. Sarah Palin's star-making speech was another. And there was a Mississippi River cruise with John Crowley.

Crowley, a biotech executive with a life story that is headed for Hollywood, is not yet a household name in the Garden State. But political insiders are already eyeing him -- with a mix of admiration and envy -- as a rising star.

He flirted with entering the U.S. Senate race this spring, and is drawing attention as a possible GOP candidate for governor in 2009, particularly if U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie doesn't run. Others say he wants to try for Senate in 2012.

Crowley maintains he currently has "no plans to run for any office," but makes no secret of his desire to play a role in the party's future. Republicans have not controlled Trenton since 2001, and a GOP candidate hasn't won a Jersey U.S. Senate race since Richard Nixon was in the White House.

"There's lots of work to be done -- in Washington, in Trenton, in lots of places, in a lot of these towns around New Jersey," Crowley said. "There's always been a notion that we'll find a white knight who will come in some statewide office and save the party, rebrand the party, re-energize the party. And I don't know that that's the case. I think this is going to be a lot of people over a lot of years who help reverse what have been some pretty damaging trends in New Jersey."

Crowley's personal story has been chronicled in a book, by Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal reporter Geeta Anand, that will soon become a movie.

Two of his children -- Megan, 11 and Patrick, 10, have Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder. When diagnosed, doctors told the Crowleys they would not live past 2 or 3 years old. Frustrated with the lack of progress on cures, Crowley quit his job and raised more than $100 million for a string of biotech companies researching the disease.

Aided by a therapy one of their father's companies helped develop, the children now attend public school, using wheelchairs to get around and tubes to assist their breathing. Megan is obsessed with the Jonas Brothers and texting on her cell phone. Patrick takes special-needs karate classes and will soon attend his first college football game.

"There is a lot of hope, a lot of potential. There is no limit on how long the kids could live," Crowley said at home in Princeton on a recent afternoon, as he chatted with his children before their sessions with tutors and physical therapists. "Hopefully, it will be many, many decades, and along the way, we want to make them as healthy and as happy as we can."

Crowley's personal experiences have helped shape his thoughts on public policy. He is passionate about making health care more accessible and more affordable without stifling innovative research.

He is a Navy reservist with a level of clearance he says gives him "a uniquely vivid perspective of world events and the terrorist threat to the United States." Having led startup companies -- he is now the CEO of Amicus Therapeutics in Cranbury -- he thinks small businesses and entrepreneurs deserve a better environment.

What remains to be seen is how Crowley's story will fit into New Jersey politics.

"When Harrison Ford is going to buy the rights to the movie, it doesn't get any better than that," said state Sen. Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex). "I just think he's sticking his toes in a political world that, from my vantage point, he's unaccustomed to swimming in the waters."

Crowley, 41, is the first to admit that. The week-long blur of his possible Senate bid, he said, was the first time he met a pollster or a consultant. He was pleased to field calls from supporters pledging money and time, but surprised when few asked his views on policy.

"I had never been to a political meeting in my life," Crowley said. "It certainly opened up a whole world of perspective into the political world, the political process."

Though he decided not to run, Crowley sensed an opening. With his friend Bill Spadea, he founded a political action committee called Building the New Majority. The grassroots group has already raised about $75,000, Spadea said, and has targeted 18 local races in 12 counties this fall. Crowley is also making inroads at the Statehouse; next to the computer in his office sits a directory of state legislators, many of whom he has courted for meetings.

While party leaders say they are genuinely grateful for Crowley's contributions, they regard him as untested in a statewide battle. And many are openly salivating at the prospect of a Christie candidacy. (Christie has said he will not make a decision until after Election Day.)

"There's so much that's sort of frozen in time waiting for Chris," said Tom Wilson, state Republican chairman. "I think John understands that there is an awful lot of support, wide and deep, for Chris right now."

Democrats are also keeping a close watch on Crowley, with some suggesting he would be a more formidable opponent for Gov. Jon Corzine than Christie.

"I don't know what they would throw at John Crowley because he is kind of a new kid on the block (and) he has this tremendously compelling personal story," said Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Morris), the only Republican to launch a 2009 gubernatorial bid.

In a blue state amid a national environment hostile to Republicans, a Republican "needs a unique story" to win, said Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University.

Crowley said he views his entrance into the political universe as a "long-term process," one "probably measured more in years than decades, but likely not in months."

"I think with any major decision in life, it's something that ultimately is a very personal decision," he said. "It kind of is what it is -- who I am, and what I care about, and what I want to get involved in."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/a_political_novice_rises_in_pr.html

[Guest]

I've admired him for years. His story moved me from the first time I read it in the WSJ well before the book that followed. I'd vote for him (and I'm a Democrat).