Senator Jean Stanfield, Assemblyman Michael Torrissi and Assemblyman Brandon Umba pushed back on Governor Phil Murphy’s new Public Health Emergency and urged every state lawmaker to do the same.

Senator Jean Stanfield, Assemblyman Michael Torrissi and Assemblyman Brandon Umba pushed back on Governor Phil Murphy’s new Public Health Emergency and urged every state lawmaker to do the same. (SenateNJ.com)

“Governor Murphy made every Democratic legislator a deal that his mandates would end on January 12. Well January 12th came and went, but his mandates are still here,” Stanfield said.

“It’s time for every Democrat in Trenton to stand up with Republicans and call an end to the madness, or step aside and let those who want to govern have their spot,“ she continued.

Over the summer, Governor Murphy and the Democratic caucus struck a deal to leave some of the Governor’s mandates in place, such as masking for children and vaccine requirements, in exchange for ending others. The deal was set to expire on Tuesday, but the new Public Health Emergency allows Governor Murphy to introduce new mandates and extend them until whenever he sees fit.

“For two years, Trenton Democrats have been complacent with sitting on the sidelines and allowing the Governor to rule through executive order. They were supposed to get their courage back this week and do the job they were elected to do, but once again, they’ve been relegated to the bench,” Umba said.

“A new round of mandates is out of step with the general public, which has had every chance to get vaccinated and now wants to move on with their lives. And if it’s not, then Trenton Democrats should put them up for a vote and stake their reputation on them,” he continued.

Every Republican in the state voted against the deal to extend the Governor’s executive orders. The caucus has repeatedly called for a restoration of equal representation between the Governor’s office and the legislature.

“I was sworn in as a member of the 220th General Assembly, yesterday. It was the honor of my life, but with that honor comes the responsibility of representing the people of my district,” Torrissi said. “Democrats in Trenton have relegated their duties to the Governor for far too long. I join Stanfield and Umba’s call to legislators to speak up now or move aside.”