By: Ricardo Pereira • Chapter Political Chair
American democracy is in crisis. The 2024 election marked a dangerous turning point—and what’s followed has been nothing short of devastating. The actions taken by the Trump administration have been a disaster for our environment and our long-term health and safety. Trump’s obsession with environmental deregulation—weakening the laws that protect us—will take years to undo.
Trump has once again withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement and is seeking to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases. He has opened more public lands and Arctic waters to oil and gas drilling, and he has erased vital climate information from federal websites. These assaults on science and environmental protection began in Trump’s first presidency and continue now on a monumental scale, threatening climate stability and the destruction of the natural heritage of all Americans.
There’s something we can do.
In this time of national crisis, we must unite behind leaders who defend our values and who will fight for our future. In New Jersey, we now have an opportunity to choose a new governor, the most powerful public position in the state. The right candidate for that role is Mikie Sherrill.
Sherrill delivers on her environmental promises. That’s why the Sierra Club proudly endorsed her in the primary—and why we believe she is the leader New Jersey needs as its next governor.
Sherrill has served as New Jersey’s representative for the 11th congressional district since 2019. She has helped shape US environmental policy as a past chairwoman of the Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. She is currently co-chair of the bipartisan Delaware Watershed Caucus, which safeguards the Delaware River Basin, a critical natural resource for New Jersey. Her leadership has shaped national policy on climate, conservation, and clean water.
Sherrill’s legislative achievements include collaboration on the Mitigate Methane Now Act (emissions reduction), the Inflation Reduction Act (clean energy expansion and natural disaster resilience), the PRECIP Act and FLOODS Act (improved flood forecasting), and the Great American Outdoors Act (national park maintenance and conservation).
She played a central role in the Water Resources Development Act (2022), directing more than $180 million toward drinking water infrastructure projects, which included PFAS mitigation in New Jersey. These efforts also brought funding for flood risk management and ecosystem restoration along the Peckman and Rahway Rivers.
Sherrill supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, through which $19 million was made available for clean, electric school buses in Newark, Bloomfield Township, Lakewood Township and other school districts. Millions more will help preserve Drew Forest, replace lead pipes, upgrade stormwater systems, and protect clean drinking water across the state.
As our governor, Sherrill will push back against Donald Trump’s reckless dismantling of environmental protections and safeguard New Jersey’s future.
As our Chapter Chair Rich Isaac puts it, “Unlike the Republican candidate this year, Mikie understands and publicly states on her campaign site that the climate crisis is real. And she knows that in New Jersey, addressing climate change isn’t a partisan issue—it’s an economic and public health issue that affects us all.”
But she can’t do it alone.
To enact the policies we so urgently need, we must elect not just a strong governor, but a legislature ready to act. That’s why the NJ Chapter has also endorsed 32 candidates for the NJ Legislature who will work alongside Mikie Sherrill. They’re all proven environmental champions who will defend our natural resources and build a cleaner, more resilient New Jersey.