DiFrancesco interested in sports authority seat

After spending six years working as a private sector lawyer, former Acting Governor and Senate Co-President Donald DiFrancesco wants to get back into public service – perhaps as a board member of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

“Would I be interested? Yeah, sure. Will I get it? I’m not sure,” said DiFrancesco. “It’s the other party. He probably has a lot of people who he wants to put on there.”

DiFrancesco chose not to seek reelection to the governorship amidst accusations of ethical lapses and scrutiny of past business deals.

But DiFrancesco’s appointment to the authority to replace Joseph Buckelew -- who he appointed as the board -- is not an outrageous scenario. DiFrancesco, a Republican, joined former Governor’s Brendan Byrne and Jim Florio in praising Gov. Corzine’s school funding formula. And now he’s hoping to find something that could return him to public service.

DiFrancesco said that the being on the authority is one of about five or six positions on his wish list. Others include serving on the board of Rutgers University or the Port Authority. But DiFrancesco said that his chances of landing those positions from a Democratic administration are slim.

“I don’t want to be paid for anything. I want to do something involving the state. I feel like I should be contributing in some way,” he said. “From the governor’s standpoint, this would be the easiest thing for him. I’m trying to be realistic about it.”