SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill is hitting the ground running after her overwhelming victory on Tuesday, announcing two important cabinet selections.
Alex Ball will serve as Sherrill’s chief of staff. He previously served as her campaign manager and her chief of staff in Congress. He also worked in senior roles at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Tim Lydon, a former New Jersey Superior Court judge, will serve as chief counsel. Lydon knows his way around Trenton, with time as executive director of the Senate Majority Office and director of cabinet affairs for Gov. Jon Corzine.
“Their expertise and dedication will help us build an administration that delivers real results for New Jersey,” Sherrill said in a statement. “A strong economy, affordable communities, and a state government focused on saving New Jerseyans time and money.”
Sherrill met with Gov. Phil Murphy in his statehouse office on Wednesday, where they discussed the transition. She said she believes she has a mandate as New Jersey’s governor-elect to fulfill campaign promises of making the state more affordable.
Sherrill said she’s focused on affordability “because my communities are focused on affordability.” She has promised to use an executive order to freeze monthly electricity bills and said she wants to expand a program for first-time homebuyers.
A key part of her campaign speech centered on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, calling them “a worldwide extortion racket,” and she cast him as a chief foil in the race. Sherrill said she had not spoken to Trump yet but was “certainly” willing to work on getting federal money into the state.