Newark, N.J.: New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy, who is running for U.S. Senate, said Tuesday she opposes construction of a gas-fired backup power plant in a minority neighborhood already heavily burdened with pollution.
But she did not say whether she had discussed her view with the one person who could stop the project in its tracks — her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy.
And questioned by reporters afterward, she would not say whether she planned to try to lobby him to kill the proposal.
“I am not speaking for the governor,” she said. “I’m talking to other people about this. I’m not here to stand up and speak for the administration. That’s not my role here today. With all due respect, that’s the end of the conversation.”
Tammy Murphy said she opposes construction of the backup power system at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission in Newark’s Ironbound section.
The neighborhood is where her husband signed New Jersey’s environmental justice lawin 2020 with great fanfare. The measure aims to ensure communities already overburdened by pollution are not forced to accept additional sources of contaminants.
“Families living in Newark are already disproportionately exposed to pollution and will experience further serious health risks as the result of this new gas-fired power plant,” she said. “For all residents of Newark, this power plant is a step in the wrong direction, and for mothers and babies in particular, it is extremely and unacceptably dangerous.”
