As a lawmaker, I know how the government works. We can write strong bills in the Legislature and fight for them, but like the emperor in the movie Gladiator, the Governor decides whether the bill will live or die once it gets to their desk. We need a Governor who won’t stall progress with vetoes or watered-down deals. We need a Governor who is going to commit to being a partner in lowering the high cost of food and energy, protect workers, save childcare, stand against extremist politics that threaten the most basic human needs—like ending SNAP food benefits, and more. I trust Mikie Sherrill to sign bold, pro-people legislation that I have become known for writing and getting done. I do not trust Jack to do that.

However, this race is about more than policy differences. It’s also about whether we protect democracy, state separation of powers, and the federal and state constitution or enable unchecked power. Whether we defend civil rights or pretend the fight is over. Whether we secure our children’s future freedoms or leave them behind a broken authoritarian government. Some ask, “Why bring up the federal government in a state race?” Because states have constitutional power—and New Jersey’s governor appoints the Attorney General (AG), who can sue when our rights are under attack, which is what our current AG is doing, and our next one needs to do too. My choice is to protect rights, not abandon them. I choose Mikie.

Fighting Electric and Gas Corporate Greed along with Grid Failure

Let’s talk about energy, because every household is feeling it.

I’m one of the few legislators in Trenton tackling both causes of our outrageous energy bills: outdated grid infrastructure and unchecked corporate greed. Utility companies rake in billions on Wall Street, raise rates multiple times a year, and still collect public subsidies. I’ve introduced a comprehensive bill package to hold them accountable and support efforts to modernize the grid. But here’s the truth: I can write and fight for these bills—but we need a governor who will most likely sign them into law.

Mikie Sherrill said she will stop skyrocketing electric and gas costs on day-one. She has committed to declaring a state of emergency on utilities. That matters. That is action. We need a Governor who will put working families over profit. That is Mikie.

Protecting Workers’ Rights

As a prime author of New Jersey’s minimum wage increase to $15 an hour and the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights—I am concerned about workers. I’ve stood on picket lines with people told to take less and be grateful. Now, with union-busting efforts coming straight from Washington, threatening the stability that generations of working families built, we must stand. We need leadership that won’t leave workers behind.

Mikie understands the importance of protecting workers on a personal level. Her family’s path to stability was through union work. She listens to workers. She doesn’t talk down to them or use them as props. She fights with them.

Her opponent Jack voted against raising the minimum wage at least five times when he was in the Assembly. He has also aligned himself with a president whose decisions fired and furloughed workers. That is not pro-worker leadership.

Infrastructure & Transit: Investing in Safety, Reliability, and Jobs

For years, by organizing a coalition, I’ve pushed to repair our aging transit system. Since 2018, we’ve met regularly with New Jersey Transit, demanded accountability, and fought for funding to fix and upgrade our local train stations. I secured $30 million in state funding for my district. That early investment helped unlock $83 million more in federal funds through my friend, the late great Congressman Donald Payne, Jr., an author of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, who was a part of the coalition. In total, we brought over $100 million into our communities of East Orange and Bloomfield for safer, more accessible transit—and the coalition is still fighting to fund the remaining stations.

While in Congress, Mikie Sherrill has also made infrastructure a top priority. She is currently pushing to un-halt the progress on the Gateway Tunnel, which will add a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, repair the existing 100-year-old tunnel, create thousands of jobs, and finally give commuters a reliable system. The project has been delayed for political reasons under President Trump, even though about half a million people depend on NJ Transit every day. Mikie understands infrastructure isn’t partisan. It’s about safety, economic strength, and investing in the future. She will fight to secure the funding to finish the job for New Jersey.

Housing is the Foundation to Wealth Building

Housing is generational wealth—and for too long the system has been intentionally engineered to create barriers for communities subjected to systemic discrimination. For nearly a decade, I’ve worked with groups like Fair Share Housing and the Housing and Community Development Network to pass transformative legislation: protecting the Housing Trust Fund, creating the Community Wealth Preservation Program, and strengthening homeownership and eviction protections during COVID. It wasn’t easy—we faced lobbyists and major political resistance.

I’ve introduced a Homeless Bill of Rights and others to cap annual rent hikes, require affordable housing in new developments, and annually safeguard housing trust funds. These proposals are still pending—and that’s why the Governor matters.

Mikie Sherrill understands the importance of housing. She’s committed to putting affordable housing trust fund money directly into her first budget instead of making us beg for it every single year. That is stability. That is how you change systems.

Protecting Our First Responders Who Protect Us All

This one is very personal to me. My husband is a first responder, a Newark Firefighter. In recent years, we lost multiple firefighters in the line of duty in Newark and Plainfield. Those are not statistics. Those are families forever changed. In response, with another coalition, we introduced a firefighter and police safety package: stronger staffing, better equipment and training standards, access to mental health care and mentorship, fair retirement, and support for families when tragedy strikes. These are the basics. They are what we owe to the people who run into danger when the rest of us are running away.

Mikie gets that. She’s a veteran. She’s already earned the trust and endorsement of firefighter unions I’ve worked alongside to build this package. We believe she will protect first responders and their families in life, in service, and—if the worst happens—in death.

Protecting Education, Equity, and Respect Must be a Priority

New Jersey has more school districts than municipalities. That fragmentation bakes inequality and segregation into the system and leaves some children under-resourced from day one.

Recently, Mikie’s opponent Jack was asked about school segregation. He admitted it exists, then implied Black students are less capable. That is not just offensive. It is dangerous. You cannot fix inequity if you think the problem is the children instead of the system.

To close education gaps—whether that means funding districts differently, consolidating districts or not— the Governor should have a core belief that Black and Brown students deserve equal investment, equal expectations, and equal respect. Mikie has that core belief. Her opponent has shown us he does not.

Childcare or the Lack Thereof is an Economic Issue that Impacts All People

Right now, childcare subsidy applications are frozen. Parents are being pushed to choose between safe care for their children and keeping their jobs. Providers are struggling to stay open. This is not just a family issue; it’s an economic emergency.

As a mother of four who literally gave birth three times while serving in office, I know what it takes to raise a family while working. Therefore, with colleagues, I’ve introduced legislation to reallocate funds and lift the freeze and have called for immediate executive action. Without childcare, families fall apart—and so does the workforce.

Mikie Sherrill understands the importance of childcare because she has lived it as a mother of four, and a career woman. She will not treat childcare as optional. I believe she will govern like it’s essential—because it is.

This Election Is About Our Future, Not Repeating Dark History, and Protecting Our Civil Rights

As a Black woman raising four Black sons in America, we're watching hard-won rights rolled back in real time. History that was always watered down is now being erased from classrooms, museums, and federal websites. My own beautiful faith, religion, and forever source of strength is again being disgustingly twisted by extremist supremacists to justify cruelty, just as it was during slavery, the Crusades, the theft of Indigenous land, and the Holocaust. The constitutional principle of church-state separation exists to prevent precisely this kind of misuse of power. Yet, Mikie’s opponent Jack said he’d give the president an “A,” even as civil rights and freedoms our elders bled for are threatened, and white supremacy is on the rise. 

I choose Mikie Sherrill! I urge you to do the same on November 4th, or during early voting.

Find your polling location here: https://nj.gov/state/elections/vote-polling-location.shtml

In service,

State Senator Britnee N. Timberlake
New Jersey’s 34th Legislative District

Principles Over Politics

Britnee N. Timberlake represents New Jersey’s 34th Legislative District in the State Senate. She previously served in the Assembly, was sworn in while nine months pregnant to succeed her mentor Sheila Y. Oliver, and formerly served as Essex County Freeholder President. Her work as a legislator includes the $15/hour minimum wage, environmental justice protections, independent investigations for deaths in police custody, COVID-19 housing protections, maternal health protections, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, and the Community Wealth Preservation Program to prevent foreclosure."