TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, the political voice for the environment, took a stance in the primary race in New Jersey’s State Legislative District 27, endorsing former Governor and State Senator, Richard Codey and Assemblyman John McKeon, and newcomer Alixon Collazos-Gill for Assembly.
“Senator Codey and Assemblyman McKeon have been longtime environmental champions for New Jersey’s environment,” said Allison McLeod, Public Policy Director, New Jersey LCV. “We know that they, along with their newest team member Alixon, will continue to prioritize the fight for clean air, safe drinking water and open space, while combating the climate crisis, and advancing environmental justice.”
“I am thankful to once again receive the endorsement of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. I look forward to continuing to work with NJLCV and like-minded organizations to enact legislation that makes our state healthier by investing in our environment,” said Senator Richard Codey.
“I have had the opportunity to partner with the League of Conservation Voters for more than two decades and value their recognition of my efforts with their endorsement in this election. We first collaborated in 2004, when I led the effort to pass the Highlands
Act, which preserved open space and protected the resources that supply clean, safe drinking water to more than one half of our state’s families. Since then, New Jersey LCV has championed my leadership in sponsoring many of the strongest environmental laws in the nation, including participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, ensuring dedicated funding for Garden State Preservation Trust, one of the nation’s most successful land conservation programs, leading the Drinking Water Infrastructure Joint Legislative Task Force, enacting the single use plastic ban, and sponsoring the historic Environmental Justice Act,” said Assemblyman John McKeon.
“I am so proud to have the support of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. I will be a strong advocate for pro-environment policies in the Assembly,” said Assembly candidate, Alixon Collazos-Gill.
“These candidates have a proven track record of not just voting for the environment while in office, but actively leading on legislation to address major environmental issues and that’s why they have the New Jersey LCV endorsement,” added McLeod. “We take our rigorous endorsement process very seriously, and we don’t endorse candidates we don’t believe in.”
Senator Codey sits on the Senate Energy Environment Committee and has cosponsored two out of the five priority bills on New Jersey LCV’s 2023 Common Agenda for the Environment this term, including legislation that would reduce carbon emissions from the concrete sector in the state and a bill that would include climate hazards in mitigation planning at the state, county, and local level to increase resilience to natural disasters. In the past he has also cosponsored a number of bills that support New Jersey’s clean energy goals, legislation that would provide funding for environmental infrastructure projects and bills that seek to tackle plastic pollution and the recycling market in the state.
Likewise, Assemblyman McKeon is a member of the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee and has led the charge on vital environmental legislation over the years, including multiple Common Agenda items. A look at the bills that McKeon has sponsored this session shows his commitment to moving New Jersey away from unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure and towards clean energy. He has worked to address plastic pollution and waste in the state, spearheaded action on improving drinking water infrastructure in New Jersey and was a prime sponsor of the nation leading Environmental Justice Bill that addresses cumulative impacts in overburdened communities, which went into effect in April.
Alixon Collazos-Gill has a proven record of serving New Jersey residents throughout her career and played a role in helping the public and small businesses prepare for the implementation of the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act. If elected to office, she wants to prioritize our water infrastructure to make sure that New Jerseyans have access to clean water now and into the future, invest in mass transit infrastructure projects to take traffic off the roads, improve our air quality, improve road safety, and get people where they need to go more efficiently all while prioritizing environmental justice communities.
This announcement marks the first of New Jersey’s LCV’s Legislative Endorsements in the 2023 elections, with more to come in the following weeks.
New Jersey LCV is a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to elect environmental champions, and it is the only New Jersey environmental group with a Political Action Committee (PAC) and Super PAC.