NEW JERSEY LCV ENDORSES GOVERNOR PHIL MURPHY FOR RE-ELECTION
NEW JERSEY LCV ENDORSES GOVERNOR PHIL MURPHY FOR RE-ELECTION
TRENTON, NJ- New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (New Jersey LCV), the leading political voice for the environment in New Jersey, announced its endorsement of Governor Phil Murphy for re-election. New Jersey LCV, a nonpartisan organization whose mission includes electing environmental champions, is the only New Jersey environmental group with a Political Action Committee (PAC) and Super PAC, and is the first environmental organization to endorse Governor Murphy in his re-election bid.
“We are thrilled to endorse Governor Murphy for a second term. In 2017, we were the first statewide environmental organization to endorse Phil Murphy, and we’re proud to be the first to endorse his re-election. We made our biggest expenditure in our history to elect Phil Murphy because of his commitment to restoring New Jersey to a position of national environmental leadership, and Governor Murphy has delivered,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director, New Jersey LCV. “Murphy pledged to put New Jersey on a path to achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2050, and he understands the importance of clean air, safe drinking water, and open space for all of New Jersey’s families and, in my opinion, has earned the title of “Greenest Governor in America.”
“Building a stronger and fairer New Jersey means protecting our air and drinking water, accelerating the transition to 100% clean energy, advancing environmental justice for communities of color, and combating the existential threat of climate change,” said Governor Murphy. “I’m thrilled to earn the endorsement of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters for our re-election campaign. Since day one, our top priority has been safeguarding the health of our environment, while creating thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs. We look forward to deepening our partnership with the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters in our second term.”
The following are some of Governor Murphy’s major environmental accomplishments:
- Signed the Clean Energy Act into law that requires New Jersey get 50% of its electricity from clean, renewable sources like wind and solar by 2030
- Established a nation-leading offshore wind program by requiring 7500MW by 2035 and by making the largest single investment in offshore wind manufacturing and jobs creation through the New Jersey Wind Port
- Published the 2019 Energy Master Plan that demonstrates New Jersey’s commitment to phasing out fossil fuels and embracing a rapid shift toward electrification
- Worked to protect our most vulnerable Black and Brown communities by signing the strongest environmental justice legislation in the country – making New Jersey the only state to have a cumulative impacts law on the books
- Designated 749 miles of rivers and streams with the highest level of protection, using the “Category One” protection for the first time in more than a decade
- Held polluters accountable with dozens of environmental lawsuits, environmental justice enforcement actions, and natural resource damage cases that seek to restore communities and ecosystems after decades of harm due to pollution
- Approved the most comprehensive single-use plastics bag ban legislation in the nation, the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act
- Signed the boldest electric vehicle legislation into law that sets NJ Transit on an ambitious timeline to electrify nearly all vehicles by 2040 to reduce harmful air pollution
“Governor Murphy kept his promises. Through his leadership, New Jersey has accomplished more for the environment during the past three years, including fighting climate change, advancing environmental justice and protecting clean drinking water, than any other state in the country,” said Henry Gajda, Policy Director and New Jersey LCV Political Action Committee (PAC) Chair. “Now, with the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis, Governor Murphy will, for the first time, have a partner in Washington, DC that will support investment in our clean energy future.”
“As the leading political voice for the environment, we take our endorsement process incredibly seriously,” said Julia Somers, Board Chair of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. “We sent endorsement questionnaires to leading candidates in both parties, and underwent an extensive, multi-step vetting process for the questionnaires we’ve received.”
A recent poll shows that New Jerseyans of all backgrounds are committed to protecting the environment. Governor Murphy has demonstrated that he is the environmental champion to move us forward and protect the beauty of our wonderful state for our children and grandchildren. As we embark on achieving the most ambitious climate agenda put forth by any state, New Jersey LCV urges New Jerseyans to vote for Governor Murphy on November 2.
New Jersey LCV works to elect viable candidates, without regard to party affiliation, who have demonstrated active or affirmative willingness and capacity to reliably advance New Jersey LCV’s conservation agenda and priorities as outlined in our Policy Agenda. We review a candidates’ environmental credentials and vision for the state through our questionnaire, and in many cases sit down with candidates to ask tough questions about the race and to ensure the candidate’s commitment to our goals of protecting the state’s air, water, and lands.
The New Jersey LCV Victory Fund – the state’s only environmental Super PAC – and the New Jersey LCV PAC plan to spend $1 million to elect Murphy and other environmental champions on the ballot in 2021.
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to elect environmental champions, hold public officials accountable, and support laws which protect our environment and improve the quality of people’s lives.
