In her inaugural speech to the state of New Jersey, Governor Mikie Sherrill made reference to the dangerous state of the nation with this observation:

The list of grievances in our Declaration of Independence included these charges against the king:

He has refused his assent to laws.

He has obstructed the administration of justice.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.

This election proved that the people of New Jersey recognize the parallels. That we see a president illegally usurping power. He has unconstitutionally enacted a tariff regime to make billions for himself and his family, while everyone else sees costs go higher and higher. Here, we demand people in public service actually serve the public instead of extorting money to benefit themselves and their cronies.

On November 4th, the people of New Jersey once again gave the nation a glimmer of something it hadn’t felt in months: hope. Yes, 250 years after the Declaration, 250 years after General Washington crossed the Delaware into the promised land, I am proud that once again, New Jersey is leading the way.

And I want you to know that I will be fighting for you. And I hope, New Jersey, you remember me when you open your electric bill and it hasn’t gone up another 20 percent. I can promise you, it won’t be because I waste your money on a ballroom at Drumthwacket.

I am going to spend every minute trying to make New Jersey more affordable and open doors to opportunity across our state.

That’s our history here, opening doors to opportunity. Patriots who manned Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad stops from Cape May to Jersey City; Labor leaders like Peter McGuire who spurred the fight for fair wages and good working conditions; Alice Paul who fought for equal rights including a women’s right to vote, and Rabbi Joachim Prinz, who fled Nazi occupation and came to Newark, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, and reminded us that “the most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.”