The general election to elect the next New Jersey governor is just four days away. Democratic candidate Mikey Sherrill (53) and Republican candidate Jack Citarelli (63), who have been locked in a tight race for the past several months, are both pledging to “make New Jersey a better place to live,” but their approaches to achieving this differ significantly.
■Taxes: While both candidates advocate tax cuts, their specifics differ significantly. Citarelli proposes implementing a cap on property taxes, capping them at a certain percentage of a home’s assessed value. He also pledged to reduce corporate taxes by 1% annually over five years and provide a state income tax deduction for student loan interest. In response, Sherrill is pledging to reduce the tax burden by expanding benefits like the childcare tax credit and the earned income tax credit. Furthermore, Sherrill is committed to cracking down on tax avoidance by corporations and the ultra-high-income class.
■Housing: This is an area where the two candidates differ significantly. Candidate Cheryl supports providing tax breaks to builders and streamlining permitting procedures to increase housing supply. Candidate Ciattarelli, on the other hand, opposes requiring each town government to supply low-income apartments, arguing that this would place an excessive burden on local taxpayers.
■Education=Candidate Ciattarelli has pledged to provide $8,000 in annual vouchers to students enrolled in private schools and expanding charter schools. He also intends to change the way the state calculates the funding it provides to local school districts. In contrast, candidate Sherrill’s key pledges include expanding free school meals, expanding after-school programs, and improving access to mental health services for students.
■Energy Costs=To address the skyrocketing electricity costs in New Jersey, candidate Sherrill has pledged to declare a state of emergency on her first day in office and freeze utility rates. Ciattarelli, on the other hand, aims to block Democratic-led clean energy initiatives while diversifying energy sources to include natural gas and nuclear power to lower costs.
■Immigration=Ciatarelli has stated that if elected governor, he would repeal the “Immigrant Protection Directive,” which restricts local police cooperation with immigration authorities. In contrast, Democratic candidate Sherrill has pledged to ban immigration enforcement agents in New Jersey from wearing masks.
■Government Reform = Candidate Sherrill announced a pledge to implement the “New Jersey Report Card,” which would allow residents to check government spending, subsidy payments, and major projects to enhance transparency in state government.
In response, Candidate Ciattarelli pledged to create a government efficiency office, like the Donald Trump administration, to root out wasteful state budgets. Candidate Ciattarelli also advocates for political reform, including limiting state legislative terms to eight years.