NJ Gov-elect Christie forms budget-tax task force

NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A former Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] partner and a Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) executive will lead New Jersey Governor-elect Chris Christie's task force on budget and taxes during the transition, his spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Christie, a Republican, campaigned on a promise not to raise taxes, but balancing the budget could prove difficult because the state's deficit could top $8 billion in the next fiscal year.

"There is no doubt that New Jersey is facing very serious fiscal challenges, which is why Governor-Elect Christie's first steps will work to restore the state's economic health," his spokeswoman said in statement.

New Jersey on Wednesday made the list of nine states with some of the worst budget problems in the nation in a Pew Center report. For details, see [ID:nN11382114].

One of the co-chairman of Christie's task force is Robert Grady, who joined private equity fund Cheyenne Capital Fund this summer after retiring from The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity funds.

The other co-chairman is Richard Bagger, a former New Jersey legislator and mayor of Westfield who now is Pfizer's senior vice president for worldwide public affairs.

Grady, who has a background in venture capital, also worked for former Republican Governor Thomas Kean and at the Office of Management and Budget in Washington , D.C. (Reporting by Joan Gralla; Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Kenneth Barry)