Sierra Club’s Critical “Get-Out-The Vote!” Effort
Sierra Club’s Critical “Get-Out-The Vote!” Effort
Tomorrow is Tuesday, November 7th, 2017 and it is Election Day here in New Jersey. The NJ Sierra Club has been promoting the importance of this election. We’ve ran phone banks to encourage others to get to the polls. We’ve also had volunteers going door-to-door. Tomorrow, we’ll be sending hundreds of our members to volunteer. We will continue to encourage everyone to get out and vote, especially in the major races such as the Gubernatorial election, Jersey City Mayor Race, and key races in Legislative Districts 2, 7, 11, 14, 16, 25, 39, and 40.
“This is the most important election on the environment in a very long time. There are clear choices between those who support clean air, clean water, and climate protections; and those who side with special interest. That’s why we’re having our largest Get-Out-The-Vote initiative in decades. We’ve been phone banking our 22,000 members and 60,000 supporters to vote and volunteer. We’ve had people out canvassing for our endorsed candidates, especially Phil Murphy for Governor,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “No matter what district you’re in, it’s important that you make your voice heard and elect people who will represent you!”
Sierra Club members and voters are encouraged to take particular notice of the races in Districts 2, 11, 16, 25, and 38, which are most likely to be close. We proudly endorsed candidates, incumbents or newcomers, who have a history of fighting against dirty energy and advocating for renewable energy and energy efficiency instead. For example, Colin Bell, who is running for Senate District 2, would be a leader in the legislature for New Jersey’s environment. We have also endorsed Vin Gopal in the 11th legislative district, as he has worked previously on restoring beach access in Monmouth County and making sure our public spaces are held in the Public Trust.
“The Sierra Club is working to support these new candidates who have shown their commitment to the environment by fighting for it at a local level. We hope to see them elected so they can continue to fight for it in the legislature as well,” said Jeff Tittel. “Our endorsed incumbents have been leaders on many different environmental issues and that’s why we’re encouraging everyone to re-elect them as leaders once more.”
The New Jersey Sierra Club is also encouraging everyone to vote “YES” on Ballot Question #2 to protect our environmental settlement funds. With Governor Christie’s current budget language, he can steal environmental settlements to plug budget holes and give tax breaks to the wealthy. As a result, the legislature put a constitutional dedication on the November Ballot, called Ballot Question #2 to ensure monies from environmental settlements would go to repair, preserve, replace, or preserve natural resources.
“We need people to vote Yes to block future administrations from robbing money for environmental clean ups. Communities in New Jersey have been victimized twice. Once by chemical spills and toxic pollution and twice by Governor Christie stealing environmental settlements. The legislature and voters are trying to put a stop to this. We need to stop the Great Environmental Heist,” said Jeff Tittel.
The New Jersey Sierra Club is also urging people to vote for Ambassador Phil Murphy for the 2017 New Jersey Gubernatorial Election. Murphy served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany under President Obama. Before that, he served as Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Phil Murphy has a strong national background working with Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee. This shows that he has the capabilities and experience to run this state. His work in Germany, as well as the United States gives him a multi-national view of how to protect the environment. He has already spoken out against the abuses of the Trump Administration and against many of the decisions of Governor Christie.
“The Sierra Club knows that it’s not only critical to endorse these candidates; we have to get out and support then. We have been encouraging everyone to get out and vote tomorrow. We need to make New Jersey a leader once more in clean energy and environmental protections. We can do this by electing responsible environmental champions to all levels of our government. We need to have clean air, water, and open space and we need elected officials that will fight for these,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
