Dover Decides: Where do Sherrill, Ciatterelli Stand on Issues?

Catch up with the 2025 N.J. gubernatorial race and its impact on the town’s future.

Republican Jack Ciattarelli, left, and Democrat Mikie Sherrill are coming down to the end of a tight race to be the next Governor of New Jersey.

By Mark J. Bonamo

Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill faces off against Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli in a race that many see as an indicator of how President Donald J. Trump is doing in his second term. Dover, located in the heart of Morris County, a traditional Republican stronghold, is a critical strategic target for both sides. 

Sherrill’s 11th Congressional District includes Dover. Part of her value as the Democratic standardbearer is that she has been able to gain the support of a significant number of Republicans since she first won her seat in 2018. Ciattarelli picked Morris County Sheriff Jim Gannon as his lieutenant governor candidate, putting his faith in the Boonton resident to help check Sherrill in the suburbs. Ciattarelli won Morris County in his 2021 losing effort against Governor Phil Murphy and needs to perform well again if he hopes to reverse the overall result. 

IMMIGRATION ISSUES

In April, the Dover council first voted to endorse the state’s Immigrant Trust Act (ITA), a legislative proposal in Trenton that would bar local law enforcement from assisting federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in many cases. The council later reversed the decision in a closed-door session. The ITA would codify into law the policy established by the Immigrant Trust Directive in 2019. Dover is a minority-majority town, with a 70 percent Latino population.

During the gubernatorial debates, the candidates made their differing views clear.

“As governor, I’m going to make sure that here in New Jersey, we’re following the law and the Constitution,” Sherrill said during the September 21 debate, underscoring she would stop ICE agents from going around masked and uncredentialed. “I’m going to make sure that people here in this state are safe and follow the law. So that will include due process rights and the Constitution.”

“Executive order on day one—we’re getting rid of the Immigrant Trust Act here in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said. “I believe the Immigrant Trust Directive, us having sanctuary cities, us having a sanctuary state, only encourages illegal immigration and restricts our local law enforcement in a number of different ways. The goal here is to keep our community safe. And the best way to do this is for us to not have sanctuary cities.”

In an October 8 debate, Ciattarelli said he wanted to establish a “pathway to recognition” for undocumented immigrants in the form of a government-issued ID. Sherill countered that such a move wouldn’t “confer any status” to anyone.

The immigration issue is impacting New Jersey’s Latino population, which finds itself wary of renewed ICE crackdowns under Trump’s second term, yet increasingly backing GOP candidates in the 2024 state elections.

Morris County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Darcy Draeger pointed out that some Latino Dover voters back Ciattarelli’s immigration stance because they believe they’re immune, but the federal immigration policy may be changing minds. 

“Immigration can be used as a convenient tool to divide people,” Draeger said. “ICE has targeted long-time residents who are business owners and have families, who suddenly have people kneeling on their necks. We need to be a nation of laws. Should we start to see greater ICE enforcement within New Jersey, including in places like Dover, there's a strong base of community people who would show up to put their bodies where their values are.”

Republican Assemblyman Brian Bergen, who represents parts of Morris County, thinks it’s a mistake to assume all Latinos will line up behind Sherrill.

“When he was running, Trump made it very clear what he was going to do, including about immigration. What he is doing now is executing those policies. It’s clear from recent election results that a lot of Latinos agreed with those policies,” Bergen said. “Immigration is not the top issue for New Jersey voters in this governor’s race. People are thinking more about how high the electricity bills have become. That’s what drives them when they go to the polls.” 

COST OF LIVING

Regarding affordability, Bergen said only Ciattarreli has a real plan to address the issue across the board. 

“The ANCHOR and Stay NJ tax break programs are a joke. They’re just a Band-Aid. The only way to deal with high property taxes, including in Dover, is to change the school funding formula, and only [Ciattarelli] really wants to do that,” Bergen said. “The rest is nonsense.”

Draeger countered that Ciattarelli’s alliance with Trump would be a “disaster” for all Garden State residents, including in Dover, with costs only rising in the aftermath of projected federal cuts.

“The cuts to Medicare, defunding the Affordable Care Act, will not only make health care out of reach for average people. It means that everyone’s costs are going to go up,” Draeger said. “You are going to have worse outcomes across the board.”

Mark J. Bonamo has written extensively about issues affecting New Jerseyans and has received numerous awards for his work. In 2015, the Washington Post named him one of the best state political reporters in the country. Recently, he began working as a contributing writer for the New York Times. He is also the co-host of The Jersey Angle podcast.