For some New Jersey pols, no getting over Miss America

They’ll consider a bill Thursday urging the Miss America Organization to return to the seaside city where it all began in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourism season that ended up creating an iconic American experience.

But lately, that experience has been taking place hundreds of miles away from Atlantic City. It most recently was held in Orlando, Florida, after a few years in Connecticut.

“The long and storied history of the Miss America Pageant has been inextricably tied to its origins and long-standing relationship with Atlantic City,” the bill states. “This resolution urges the Miss America Pageant to return to Atlantic City in 2025 and every year thereafter.”

The Miss America Organization did not respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday.

The bill is due to be heard in the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee.

Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, a Democrat from Mount Holly, said she was inspired by working with Miss New Jersey 2024 Elizabeth Mendel. The Cape May Court House woman worked with the assemblywoman on several legislative measures involving treating and preventing eating disorders.

“I really wanted to go see her compete in Miss America, but it was in Orlando, not Atlantic City,” Katz said. “I was thinking, ‘We need to bring this back to New Jersey; this is the kind of energy we need. These women are working on such incredible platforms. We need this back here.”

For generations, Miss America was held in Atlantic City, with the surf, salt water taffy and Boardwalk parades to show off creative footwear featuring prominently in the experience.

It was a part of Americana, and longtime master of ceremonies Bert Parks crooning, “There she is … Miss America,” became synonymous with the pageant.

The Miss America competition left Atlantic City in 2005 after deciding it was too expensive to stage its production here. It went to Las Vegas, where it was held at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

New Jersey officials coaxed the pageant back to Atlantic City in 2013, with subsidies aimed at helping the event succeed.

But the state declined to renew subsidies following the 2018 competition, and in 2019, the pageant moved to Connecticut. The bill makes no mention of subsidies or any incentives that might be offered.

Katz said she hopes the competition’s finances could succeed if it returned to Atlantic City.

“Let’s all be optimistic,” she said.

Ownership of the Miss America Organization has been the subject of recent litigation in Florida. Former Atlantic City casino owner Glenn Straub sued Miss America’s CEO last year for $20 million. Straub, who owns companies that acquired the Miss America Organization in 2022, claims in the lawsuit that he terminated Robin Fleming from her position as the pageant’s CEO in April 2024 but that she claims to still be in charge.

Earlier this month, 22-year-old nursing student Abbie Stockard of Alabama was crowned Miss America 2025 in Orlando.

The organization says its mission is “empowering women to lead” in every area of life from philanthropy to business to arts, politics, education and more.

In 1945, it started awarding scholarships to the winner instead of prize money, making Miss America one of the first organizations in the United States to offer college scholarships to women.