Mikie Sherrill talks housing, builder’s remedy during Jersey City campaign stop

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a leading contender to become New Jersey’s next governor, spoke with HudPost about her candidacy and the state’s housing crisis during a campaign stop in Jersey City.

“I’m Mikie Sherrill. I’m a former Navy helicopter pilot, a former federal prosecutor, I’m a mom of four kids, and I’ve been serving in Congress” Sherrill said when introducing herself to Hudson County voters who are unfamiliar with the Democratic congresswoman representing portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.

“We’re here in Jersey City because Jersey City’s experienced some of the highest growth in rental prices across the nation.”

During the roundtable discussion with local residents, Sherrill listened to stories about cost-burdened renters, unscrupulous landlords, and some of the challenges people face when looking for an apartment in Jersey City.

Sherrill told HudPost the key takeaway from the conversation was that New Jersey needs to expand its housing supply. However, when asked about the rapid inventory growth in Jersey City under Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democratic rival, Sherrill focused on the “missing middle.”

“A lot of the inventory that’s been grown is really in the luxury, high-end apartment buildings, and that’s left a lot of people out,” Sherrill said. “Sure, there are areas for luxury buildings, but we really need to make sure we have that missing middle, the workforce housing.”

That critique of Fulop has become a predictable theme during the Democratic primary. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, another gubernatorial contender, told HudPost “I think [Fulop] agrees we need affordable housing, he just ain’t built none.”

All of the leading Democratic candidates have embraced “pro-growth” messaging with a focus on “affordability,” but Sherrill may have created some daylight between herself and rivals when discussing affordable housing obligations.

During the roundtable discussion, Sherrill suggested the Mount Laurel Doctrine – which imposes Fair Share housing mandates on most suburban municipalities – wasn’t alleviating the state’s housing crisis.

When asked about the comment, Sherrill said “I think we are really lacking as a state a vision for where housing needs to be built, affordable and otherwise.”

Conversely, Fulop has proposed expanding the doctrine to include urban areas like Hoboken and Jersey City – which would open up the possibility of developers utilizing builder’s remedy lawsuits in Hudson County.

Asked whether she supports the proposal, Sherrill said “I would caution a little bit about builder’s remedy being the solution to all of our affordable housing problems, because we’ve seen across my district often that involves building huge luxury apartment buildings to offset the cost of a couple affordable units.”

“Let’s figure out those places where people want to live, especially around transit-oriented development, and make sure that we are addressing those needs, and building out the housing stock we need, and driving down prices in a thoughtful way across this densely populated state.”