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Tammy Murphy opposes gas plant in polluted Newark neighborhood — but Phil backs it
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Feb 20, 2024
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By
Nancy Solomon
Published Feb 20, 2024
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U.S. Senate candidate and New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy announced her opposition to a new natural gas plant in Newark on Tuesday, in her first public break with her husband's policy position on an issue since he became governor.
“I am not speaking for the governor, and I haven't talked to him about it,” she told a scrum of reporters after a campaign event at the Ironbound Early Learning Center. “I'm not here to stand up and speak for the administration. That's not my role here today."
“And if that’s the essence of your questions, with all due respect, that’s the end of the conversation,” she continued.
Gov. Phil Murphy has previously said he supports the construction of a power generating plant in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood that would provide backup power to a sewage treatment plant run by the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission. That comes despite his championing of an environmental justice law that would restrict development in areas classified as “overburdened” by pollution — including the Ironbound.
The first lady would not say whether she intends to lobby him on this issue, and walked away after telling Gothamist: “Thank you so much for asking that question, and take good care, everybody.”
Local and environmental groups have lobbied the governor to have his Department of Environmental Protection halt plans for the gas plant because it would burn natural gas, a polluting fossil fuel, and because the Ironbound neighborhood is already home to many industrial facilities, including three other power plants. The governor’s office declined to comment on Tuesday.
“Tammy Murphy has always been on the right side of environmental issues. She's been a climate activist for many years,” said Kim Gaddy, a Newark resident and the environmental justice director for advocacy group Clean Water Action.
She also works with the South Ward Environmental Alliance, which works to protect low-income communities in Newark from pollution.
“So I'm hoping that that knowledge that she has will be enough for the governor to say, ‘Maybe I should be on the right side of history and listen to the women, you know, not only first lady Tammy Murphy, but the women of the community, the activists,” Gaddy said.
If Tammy Murphy wins the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Bob Menendez, she and her husband would hold two of only three statewide elected offices in New Jersey. She’s won institutional support from many of the state’s largest Democratic organizations, but is trailing Rep. Andy Kim in a recent poll. Menendez, who faces an indictment, hasn’t yet said if he’ll seek re-election.
Tammy Murphy toured the Ironbound Community Preschool and then made brief remarks before a small group of community activists, statewide environmentalists and news reporters.
“One in four children are diagnosed with asthma here in Newark – that's three times the national average,” she said. “This part of our state already has three gas-burning power plants. It already has the largest incinerator in our state.”
Flooding and power outages during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 led to sewage overflowing onto streets and into Newark Bay. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission has wanted to fix that problem by building a backup plant, but Tammy Murphy is suggesting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency look at cleaner power generation methods.
Statewide environmental groups said they were happy to have her support.
“There's a lot of rules, a lot of policies that he could fast-track to get us on the right path,” said Amy Goldsmith, New Jersey state director of Clean Water Action. “It just doesn't make any sense. We need clean air, we need clean energy, we need resiliency. And this gas plan is not it. So it really goes all against what the governor's position has been through his entire two terms.”
Newark's City Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the gas-powered plant last April. Plans for a similar plant by NJ Transit in Kearny were recently canceled. Newark activists expected that the environmental justice law, which the governor signed in September 2020, would protect the Ironbound community. But the application for the plant predates the law.
“Psychologically for our neighborhood, it's been devastating. We led the charge on that bill. It took us about 12 years to get that bill passed, you know, with all the allies across the state,” said Maria Lopez-Nunez, deputy director of organizing and advocacy at the Ironbound Community Corporation.
Lopez-Nunez said Tammy Murphy's opposition could be the kind of help the activists seek.
“But it's the actions that they do afterwards that are going to show, you know, what they really mean and if they're actually behind us in true spirit or just in words,” she said.
And Lopez-Nunez said the support is helpful, even if the governor and first lady aren’t on the same page.
“So I think couples can disagree, you know?” she said.
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Nancy Solomon
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