Shortly after Phil Murphy and Sheila Oliver took their oaths of office to become New Jersey’s Governor and Lt. Governor on Tuesday morning, The Lakewood Vaad released a statement of congratulations:
“We congratulate Governor Phil Murphy upon his assuming the highest office in the Garden State, which is among the most vital governorships in the nation. We are confident that Governor Murphy has the energy, optimism, judgment, integrity and dedication to public service to be an exceptional governor. Likewise, we are confident that Lt. Governor Oliver has the same qualities for her office and that she will prove to be an exceptional Lt. Governor for our state.
We look forward to working together with Governor Murphy, Lt. Governor Oliver and their administration on issues such as fixing the broken school funding formula, fixing statewide transportation problems, improving the business climate, fighting bigotry, promoting religious freedom, ensuring that our families have access to affordable healthcare, improving New Jersey’s schools and upgrading our infrastructure.
As Governor Murphy has made it clear, he fully understands the challenges ahead and intends to tackle them with an innovative vision and a determination for reform. The Lakewood Vaad was proud to endorse Governor Murphy and Lt. Governor Oliver in November and our community supported the Governor and Lt. Governor at the ballot box in numbers unprecedented for Democrat candidates in our region.
In particular, we look forward to working with the Governor on the unique issues facing our community in Lakewood and surrounding municipalities; which are: fixing the broken education funding formula that shortchanges our children; dualizing congested stretches on US Highway 9; protecting UEZ and other pro-business incentives; protecting TAG and other programs that ensure access to a quality higher education; and eliminating discriminatory municipal ordinances aimed at stunting the growth of religious communities.
The Governor has shown a refreshing understanding of our community and an appreciation of our many contributions to the State. We are particularly encouraged by Governor Murphy’s appointment of former State Comptroller Matthew Boxer; Maury Litwack of Teach Advocacy Network; and Mrs. Chanie Jacobowitz of Beth Medrash Govoha – who have a distinct understanding of our community’s needs – to the transition team. We are confident that New Jersey’s brightest days are ahead of us, and look forward to doing anything we can to make them even brighter.”