While I am at my home in Little Silver, still without power since Tuesday at 11:30am, I’m wondering, like many NJ-04 constituents probably are, where is Rep. Chris Smith?
This power outage, which was caused by a minor storm that lasted no more than three hours, makes clear that we must prioritize modernizing our infrastructure and securing our electrical grid. As the next Congresswoman in NJ-04, I will work to ensure that our infrastructure and electrical systems in New Jersey are updated and improved with the latest technology and standards. It’s what we, as taxpayers, deserve.
I am grateful to all of the crews who are working tirelessly to restore power to the more than 400,000 New Jersey homes that are still without it, but we have to ask – what are these utility companies’ plans for the storms that are sure to come our way over the next weeks and months?
These coming months are predicted to be the worst hurricane season we have seen in years. Hurricane Sandy left people along the Jersey Shore without power for weeks. Now, almost a decade later, it seems as though no improvements have been made. This is unacceptable.
Going days and weeks without power puts elderly people, our disabled community, small children, and anyone who needs electricity for basic needs at risk. This pandemic has millions of people working from home, heavily relying on electricity and internet access, and our local businesses are already suffering—we cannot go days or weeks without power, and in 2020 we shouldn’t have to. Send me to Congress and I will use both my voice and my vote to ensure that modernizing our infrastructure and electrical grid is at the top of our agenda.
Stephanie Schmid is a New Jersey native, a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer and Diplomat who served our country overseas on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, and a human rights litigation attorney and advocate. She won the Democratic primary in NJ-04 with 70% of the vote and continues to work to expand her grassroots coalition to finally bring new leadership to New Jersey’s 4th District for the first time in 40 years. As the next Representative in NJ-04, Stephanie will work tirelessly to ensure that we have access to the resources we need before, during, and after a global crisis.
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