New Jersey is one of two states, along with Virginia, that has legislative and gubernatorial elections this year. If you’re one of the 35% of New Jersey voters who aren’t aligned with either political party, you should know that how you vote in the November 4th election could steer the future not only of our state, but of our country. Who we choose to elect as governor will be seen as a sign of where the country is heading. I believe that we are heading in the wrong direction nationally and need a governor who will protect our besieged democracy and stand up to the President when needed.
I believe that Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill is the clear choice. She’s smart, compassionate, tough, and a hard worker who’s more comfortable solving problems than making headlines. She’s focused on addressing issues that matter to the average NJ resident: making housing more affordable, controlling utility prices, protecting healthcare, improving our infrastructure, and safeguarding a woman’s right to choose. I’ve met her several times and been impressed by her grasp of the issues, her integrity, and her commitment to all her constituents. I may not agree with her on everything, but I believe she’ll make us proud and be a major improvement over our last few Governors.
Mikie Sherrill has spent her entire career in public service. Inspired by her grandfather, a WW2 pilot, she joined the navy and served for a decade as a helicopter pilot flying missions in Europe and the Middle East and as a senior officer during the Iraq invasion. Military service alone obviously isn’t enough to justify being Governor but it tells us something important about Sherrill; she has consistently placed service above self, and the values that she learned in the Navy continued to guide her as an Assistant US Attorney, where she worked to keep our communities safe by prosecuting criminals and getting illegal guns off the streets.
In 2018, after Donald Trump’s first election, Sherril decided that the best way she could serve her country was to run for Congress, taking on a twenty-year incumbent in a Republican-leaning district. Mikie built her campaign from the bottom up, listening to residents across the political spectrum, hearing their concerns, and finding common ground. Once elected, she focused on serving her constituents, delivering excellent constituent services and advocating tirelessly for funding for the Gateway Tunnel. She also showed a strong independent streak and a willingness to challenge powerful people. She played an important role in the first impeachment of President Trump, but she also stood up to her own party’s leadership, refusing to support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker in 2019 and being one of the first Democrats in Congress to call on Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign.
Sherrill’s relative newness to politics sometimes shows; she’s not as slick a speaker as many career politicians, including her opponent, who have had decades of practice. But despite (perhaps because of) being relatively new to politics, she’s proven remarkably effective: in 2023, she was ranked the most effective of NJ’s 14 members of Congress by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking. Her constituents have recognized this by decisively re-electing her three times.
New Jersey is facing serious challenges right now. The cost of living has risen sharply, including a recent spike in utility rates due largely to increasing demand from data centers. Housing has become prohibitively expensive, and home ownership is out of reach for many young people. NJ Transit is a mess. The President is punishing his political opponents by stripping funding from critical infrastructure projects such as the Gateway Tunnel, and the budget passed by Congressional Republicans included massive cuts to Medicaid and Medicare that will result in 300,000-plus NJ residents losing health insurance, slash benefits for children and adults with disabilities, and potentially result in hospital layoffs and even closures.
Although Congresswoman Sherrill is from the same party as current Governor Murphy, she has an independent agenda and will not simply be a continuation of the Murphy administration. So, if you’re looking for change yet unhappy with what is happening in Washington as a model for that change, Mikie Sherrill is your candidate. I believe Mikie Sherill will bring effective, efficient and yet compassionate governance to NJ. She has demonstrated the ability to work across the aisle and proven that she’s willing to make tough decisions. As governor, she will prioritize reducing the cost of living in NJ, with her first step the declaration of a state of emergency to stop utility rate hikes, coupled with a plan to build out cheaper and cleaner green energy infrastructure to address long-term costs. Sherrill will also prioritize cutting through red tape in Trenton to bring down the cost of permitting, which will increase the production of housing while lowering costs for construction businesses; additionally, she will expand NJ’s first-time homebuyer program to help younger New Jerseyans get a foothold in the state. (I encourage you to visit her website to learn more.) Most importantly, she will stand firm in defense of New Jersey and will push back when the Trump Administration overreaches.
Our alternative to Sherrill is Jack Ciattarelli. Back in 2010, I spent an enjoyable hour at Small World Coffee with Princeton’s then-Assemblyman Ciattarelli. We spoke about marriage equality (he expressed some concerns but seemed open to supporting it; he did end up voting against it twice) as well as other issues. He fully fit the description of a moderate Republican, someone who valued science and the environment and was open to compromise. I was disappointed that he caved on several occasions to political pressure from Governor Christie, once even abandoning a bill he had co-sponsored when faced with Christie’s opposition. Still, I would have described him as someone I respected. I don’t know what happened to that Jack Ciattarelli. Whether out of conviction or opportunism he has joined the MAGA right. He’s promised to create a NJ version of DOGE and has attacked Mikie Sherrill for voting against the Congressional budget that will strip healthcare from so many of our residents. At the most recent debate Ciattarelli was asked what grade he would give to President Trump’s performance and responded with ‘A’, adding that he thinks Trump is “right about everything he’s doing.” This unwillingness to criticize the President in any way demonstrates that Ciattarelli simply can’t be counted on to be the independent advocate for our state that New Jerseyans need and deserve.
So those are our choices: a dedicated public servant who has spent her career serving her country and has stood up to her party’s leaders when needed, or someone who will take orders from Donald Trump. I think Mikie Sherrill is the clear choice. A vote for her validates that NJ wants elected leaders with integrity who are focused on solving problems and making life better for the people they serve.
