Sherrill, legislative Democrats criticize Murphy’s doubts of rate-freeze proposal

On Friday, when asked his thoughts on Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s plan to freeze utility rates for a year if she’s elected governor, Gov. Phil Murphy said he wasn’t sure how such a plan could work. 

After his skepticism, Sherrill and other Democrats in the state hit back on social media, saying the policy is doable.

“I’m tired of hearing that lowering your electric bill is ‘too hard’ or ‘not doable.’” Sherrill said. “I’m going to get it done for NJ families.”

Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for governor, is looking to succeed Murphy. She will face Republican Jack Ciattarelli in November’s general election. Democrats have hurried to address a spike in energy rates this year to ensure the party can maintain control of the governorship and the Assembly.

In the face of President Donald Trump’s second term, much of the Democratic Party’s base has criticized leaders for a lack of boldness and effectiveness in resisting national Republicans. Rhetoric from Sherrill and some legislative Democrats follows the same pattern.

Sherrill announced an aggressive set of plans last week, including the proposed freeze on utility rates, to lower energy costs for New Jerseyans. Murphy said he didn’t know whether such a policy could be implemented given the energy sector’s intersection with private firms. Sherrill’s campaign has said she’d have the power to freeze rates as governor but didn’t specify exactly how that proposal would be enacted.

“I’m not sure how you’d actually do that,” Murphy said on Friday. “These are private-sector players. I’m not sure if she got into the details as to how you do it, but we’ve been spending morning, noon, and night on energy, energy sources, energy affordability for years.”

State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch), the Sherrill campaign’s chair, said in a social media post that Sherrill will not let potential obstacles prevent her from chasing her policy priorities.

“Trenton too often asks if something can be done,” Gopal wrote. “[Mikie Sherrill] will ask when do we get started!”

And Assemblywoman Andrea Katz (D-Chesterfield), the Democrat from the competitive 8th legislative district, said outright that Murphy was wrong in his trepidations about Sherrill’s proposals.

“The governor is wrong again,” Katz said. “We can, should, and will freeze utility rates.”