Sierra Club Endorses Reed Gusciora for Trenton Mayor

The New Jersey Sierra Club will be announcing our endorsement of Reed Gusciora for New Jersey Trenton Mayor. Gusciora has been a strong voice advocating for the development and revitalization of Trenton for more than two decades. His environmental goal for the City of Trenton is to reshape and remediate the City in such a way that creates a physical space attractive for people to live in. He believes that Trenton deserves experienced, innovative, and dedicated leadership. He wants his administration to be a proactive partner in the lives of citizens, working with them to identify issues and remediate them as quickly and effectively as possible, while also implementing modern management practices to increase efficiency and develop a smart, 21st century city.

“We are endorsing Reed because he has worked hard for the environment. We believe he will help improve urban areas for cleaner drinking water, especially in schools where lead is in children’s drinking water. Reed will take on the illegal trash dumping problems in Trenton while making the city the greenest in the country”, said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We believe Reed will make Trenton more resilient deal with issues by increasing the city’s clean energy infrastructure. He will move the city towards 100% renewable and move it into the 21^st century. He will fight for Trenton’s environment, public health, and economy and we believe he is the best candidate for Mayor of Trenton.”

The Trenton mayoral race is locked in with 8 candidates: Reed Gusciora, Alex Bethea, Darren Green, Duncan Harrison Jr., Annette Horton-Lartigue, Paul Perez, Michael Silvestri and Walker Worthy Jr.. Out of the candidates, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer/Hunterdon) brings the most political experience in the race. Gusciora has represented the 15^th district since 1996 and has been a loyal advocate for Trenton. Reed has been one of the State’s most progressive, reliable, and forward-thinking environmentalists. Legislation he sponsored established the State’s Electronic Waste Recycling Program, and more recently, would have established a fracking or fracking waste ban in New Jersey. He was also the sponsor of the Historic Tax Credit legislation that was unfortunately vetoed by Governor Christie.

“I’m deeply honored to receive the Sierra Club’s endorsement for Mayor of Trenton. For more than two decades, in my role as Assemblyman for the 15^th District, I have worked closely with them in order to make New Jersey a national leader in progressive environmental policy. Trenton has more than its fair share of problems, and as a result, environmental concerns can fall by the wayside. The next Mayor will be left to deal with these problems. As someone who has been a strong voice for environmental policy at the State level, I know I can expeditiously address these problems once I take office. I know I can proactively work to mitigate the effects of illegal dumping and flooding. I know I can attract green industries – that provide good, well-paying jobs – to Trenton, and make the City an epicenter in the development of green technologies. Most importantly, I know I can position Trenton to be a leader in the fight against climate change”, said Reed Gusciora. “I look forward to working with the residents of Trenton, the Sierra Club, our partners in Federal, State, and County government, and other interested stakeholders, to making the City an environmentally-conscious, green-tech epicenter. Together, we will lift Trenton.”

Trenton’s infrastructure water quality problem is an example of New Jersey’s ongoing water crisis. Trenton has old, outdated pipes, and lead in their drinking water. Their water treatment system keeps breaking down and the treatment doesn’t always work. Reed has pledged that making Trenton Water Works more efficient and reliable will be his administration’s top priority. His administration would establish a Mayor’s Caucus, including the leaders of the communities that are served by Trenton Water Works, in order to facilitate an ongoing dialogue between the communities, and allow for necessary updates about the utilities operations, and to its systems.

“Reed’s number one commitment is to protect children’s drinking water from lead. He wants to make sure that people at home are drinking clean water. He will go after illegal dumping in the city and clean up and redevelop contaminated sites. He knows that he needs to make Trenton more resilient to climate change by dealing with sea level rise by good planning,” said Joanne Pannone, Group Chair of NJ Sierra Club’s Central Jersey Group. 

In order to boost the city’s green economic development, Reed believes the city of Trenton is an ideal candidate for New Jersey’s green energy economic center. Reed believes that mitigating flooding is critical to mitigating damage to personal property and the City’s economic capacity in the long-term, especially as the effects of man-made climate change exacerbate the severity of natural disasters. To combat climate change, Reed’s administration would commit to the goals of Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 Campaign where the city would transition to 100% renewable energy.

“As Mayor, Reed will bring good planning, smart growth and economic development to Trenton. For too long, Trenton has not taken advantage of its resources and location. The city should be a prime location for economic development and green jobs. Reed will build on this potential and promote its mass transit system. He will help Trenton move forward by redeveloping brownfield sites, gardens, and parks,” said Kip Cherry, Conservation Chair of New Jersey Sierra Club’s Central Jersey Group.

The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization with over 1,000,000 members nationwide. The Sierra Club traces its roots to 1892, when noted conservationist John Muir founded the organization. Muir is widely credited with influencing President Theodore Roosevelt to create the nation’s first national parks. The Sierra Club boasts an estimated 20,000 members in New Jersey, the tenth largest of the organization’s 65 chapters in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“Out of the candidates Reed brings the most political experience in the race. As an Assemblyman for the New Jersey State Legislature, he supported important legislation, whether it is on green jobs and fracking waste or standing up to environmental rollbacks or the Exxon sellout by the Christie administration, said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Reed has been a leader on virtually every environmental issue. He helped pass critical environmental legislation and stood up to special interests to stop attempts to rollback critical environmental programs.”