Mikie Sherrill Becomes New Jersey Governor With Eye On Affordability And Trump

NEWARK, New Jersey — Mikie Sherrill became New Jersey’s 57th governor on Tuesday, coming out of the gate with executive orders to address skyrocketing utility costs — and a vow to position New Jersey as a bulwark against actions coming out of Washington.

Sherrill, a former member of Congress, federal prosecutor and Navy helicopter pilot, succeeds Phil Murphy, ushering in a third term in a row of Democrats helming the state — a feat that had not been achieved for six decades. Sherrill and her running mate, Dale Caldwell, had a blowout victory in November as Democrats up and down the ballot across the country secured wins due in large part to voters’ frustrations with the first year of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, particularly the rising cost of living.

On stage in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, Sherrill signed two executive orders concerning utility costs, an issue that she campaigned heavily on. The first order would effectively freeze rates through bill subsidies and halt more rate increases, and the other aims to expand energy supplies.

Sherrill said she hopes New Jerseyans “remember me when you open up your electric bill and it hasn’t gone up by 20 percent” and promised to “spend every minute trying to make New Jersey more affordable and open doors to opportunity across our state.”

She also took aim at Trump, earning standing ovations throughout her speech, including when saying that she welcomed critics expressing their concerns and that they would do so “without fear of reprisal” or being “unfairly prosecuted.” In New Jersey alone, Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver faces charges of assaulting federal officers during an oversight visit of an immigration detention facility, which McIver has called “selective and vindictive prosecution” by the Trump administration.

“We see a president illegally usurping power, unconstitutionally enacting a tariff regime to make billions for himself and his family while everyone else sees their costs go higher,” Sherrill said. “Here we demand people in public service actually serve the public.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a departure from recent years, Sherrill chose to hold her inaugural ceremony in the state’s most populous city rather than in the capital of Trenton. Newark is home to a diverse population: More than 80 percent of residents are Black or Latino, constituencies that moved away from Democrats in recent years but helped deliver Sherrill her dominant win in November after she ran on a vow to address affordability concerns. Sherrill likened the Newark location to Noah’s Ark — a “new ark to open the door for those who thirst for liberty and prosperity.”

Sherrill is the second female governor in New Jersey history; the first was Republican Christine Todd Whitman.

Heading into the role, Sherrill enjoys a relatively positive perception among New Jerseyans: A poll conducted by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University from the end of December through the beginning of January found that 40 percent of respondents had a favorable view of her, compared to 22 percent unfavorably.

But she also enters office with a wide swath of residents who have no opinion of her — 32 percent. That “could work in Sherrill’s favor as she begins her first term, suggesting many residents are open to what she brings to the table,” Ashley Koning, director of the polling center, said in a statement. “But it also poses a challenge: She’ll need to deliver tangible results to turn that uncertainty into positive sentiment.”

In addition to skyrocketing utility rates, a host of other challenges loom over the Sherrill administration, including strained federal funding and a budget with a more than $1 billion structural deficit. Prior to Sherrill getting sworn in on Tuesday, Murphy vetoed a bill that would write into state law permanent restrictions between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities — a move that sparked condemnation from pro-immigrant groups that are now putting the pressure on Sherrill.

“This is a betrayal to the thousands of immigrants, community leaders, and advocates who fought for the last year to keep us safe,” Make the Road New Jersey executive director Nedia Morsy said in a statement. “We cannot wait for the perfect conditions or guarantees to pass these bills. We look forward to working with the incoming Sherrill administration to get these over the finish line and show that New Jersey is ready to stand up to the Trump administration.”

Sherrill has not commented specifically on the bills Murphy vetoed on Tuesday, although she previously said she does not support similar legislation — arguing it could open New Jersey’s current immigrant protections to litigation. During her gubernatorial campaign, she promised to push for legislation that would bar Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents from being masked — which would also likely face litigation from the Trump administration — and pushed back on federal immigration agents during her speech.

“We refuse to be silent as so many doors are shut on too many of our friends and neighbors,” she said. “Too many children and seniors who don’t have enough to eat, people who work too hard and still can’t get ahead, communities living in fear, children who are afraid their parents will disappear in an ICE raid while they are at school.”

State Sen. Britnee Timberlake, a progressive Democrat who was a supporter of the bills Murphy pocket vetoed Tuesday, said she would push to pass the bills into law under Sherrill. Timberlake said she agreed with Sherrill’s comparisons of Trump’s actions to those of a king.

“She laid out the exact breaches that our forefathers laid out that were against the king when we did our independence,” Timberlake told POLITICO. “And we are still seeing that same pattern here now today.”

Also sworn in was Caldwell, who will take on the role of secretary of state. He is the first pastor to serve as lieutenant governor in state history.

“We step into leadership at a time of deep national division and growing anxiety. We have witnessed attacks on rights, freedoms, dignity and truth. We have seen vulnerable communities targeted and democratic institutions threatened,” Caldwell said during his inaugural speech, vowing that the administration will “restore trust in the institutions of our democracy that serve the public.”