The Green Party Madelyn Hoffman for Senate Campaign this afternoon issued the following response to NJ Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel:

“In the Insider NJ article written by Max Pizarro titled “Doubling Down on Support for Malinowski, Tittel Rails Against ‘Trump-Enabling’ Green Party,” Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel makes several troubling statements about the upcoming election and in so doing appears to break the veneer of non-partisanship. The Green Party and the Sierra Club have a long history of working together since both organizations have a strong commitment to a clean environment. Unfortunately, this year, partisan politics have gotten in the way of that shared agenda.

“Like several other non-profit organizations in the state of New Jersey, the Sierra Club made their endorsement of Democrats Senator Menendez and candidate for Congress in CD7 Tom Malinowski before even extending an opportunity to Green Party candidates Diane Moxley for Congress in District 7 and Madelyn Hoffman for U.S. Senate to fill in a candidates’ questionnaire or present their environmental platform. Both candidates have a long track record of care and commitment to the environment. Diane Moxley traveled to Standing Rock in support of the Native Americans’ efforts to protect their water – “Water is Life” – and has spoken out against fracking and for the Green New Deal, converting our reliance on fossil fuels to a reliance on clean energy as soon as possible. The U.N. indicated recently that we have just 12 years left before the effects of climate change are irreversible.
Diane Moxley has also committed non-violent civil disobedience as a part of the Flood Wall Street action following the NYC climate march in 2014, participated in activism with the Coalition Against the Pilgrim Pipeline and Beyond Extreme Energy protests against FERC’s rubber-stamping of gas infrastructure and more.

“Madelyn Hoffman was the Director of the Grass Roots Environmental Organization from 1983 – 1998 and played a central role in defeating at least 15 proposals for garbage incinerators throughout the state. While she was Director, not a single new hazardous waste disposal facility was built, nor a sewage sludge incinerator, nor a radioactive waste storage facility. She has also attended recent meetings in opposition to the new power plant proposed for North Bergen and the Meadowlands – and has both expressed her opposition to the project and urged others to do the same. It was especially noteworthy at one meeting when several speakers explained how candidate for governor Phil Murphy committed himself to a state in which half of the energy provided would be clean energy, while the state would be powered by 100% clean energy by 2050. So far, Governor Murphy has not yet denied a single permit to the huge power plant proposed for North Bergen, a power plant that if constructed would make it virtually impossible for the governor’s stated goals to be achieved by 2030.

“If Seth Kaper-Dale, the Green Party candidate for governor had been elected, this would not have been the case.

“In addition, Madelyn Hoffman has made it clear that she will advocate for the people of Newark who are currently facing a water contamination crisis – drinking water in all areas of Newark contains elevated levels of lead – until all 94,000 households receive necessary filters, all the lead pipes are removed and replaced and the population is tested for current levels of lead in their system. Once again, Green Party candidate for Governor Seth Kaper-Dale highlighted these problems over a year ago and was prepared to act on those problems then. Unfortunately, neither Bob Hugin nor Senator Menendez has yet to say a word about this environmental catastrophe.

“It is a sad state of affairs when an environmental organization with a long, proud history of caring about the environment, attempts to silence and vote shame a political party with a strong commitment to a clean environment, not only historically as a political party, but with two candidates with such strong and established track records on these issues.”