The Jersey City Independent "

Share/Save

Most — but not all — of Hudson County’s legislators lodged slightly greener votes than their peers during the last legislative session, but they were still far from being true environmental champions, according to a report released today by Environment New Jersey.

The group’s legislative scorecard examines the voting records of New Jersey’s state Senators and Assembly members on eight bills it deemed key to the environment, on issues ranging from open space protections to solar power.

Overall, the average score for both the Senate and the Assembly was 55 percent, down from 70 and 74 percent, respectively, the last time the group examined the voting records.

“This scorecard is not a high mark for the legislature,” Environment New Jersey field director Doug O’Malley says. “Overall scores dropped significantly because there were more attempts — some successful — to rollback environmental protections.”

Here’s how Hudson County’s legislators fared:

Senate

• Brian Stack (33rd District): 63 percent
• Sandra Cunningham (31st District): 50 percent
• Nick Sacco (32nd District): 50 percent

Assembly

• Anthony Chiappone (31st District): 63 percent
• Vincent Prieto (32nd District): 63 percent
• Joan Quigley (32nd District): 63 percent
• Ruben Ramos (33rd District): 63 percent
• Caridad Rodriguez (33rd District): 63 percent
• L. Harvey Smith (31st District): N/A — an incomplete; he stopped voting after being arrested last summer on corruption charges.

For a full breakdown of their votes, and the specific bills Environment New Jersey looked at, you can check out the scorecard embedded below.

Environment New Jersey Legislative Scorecard 2009