The New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club has endorsed independent candidate Chris Daggett in the governor's race, the group announced Monday.

Daggett is an environmental consultant who has served as the state's commissioner for the Department of Environmental Protection and before that as the regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Reagan.

This is the first time the state chapter of the Sierra Club has endorsed an independent candidate for governor.

"By endorsing Chris Daggett for governor, the Sierra Club not only made the principled choice but the right choice," said Jeff Tittel, director of the group. "Chris Daggett has shown leadership and a real commitment to protecting our environment. He has demonstrated his willingness to stand up to special interests and politicians to do what's right for the environment."

Daggett said that if elected, he plans to establish a permanent and stable source of funding for open space protection. In recent years, the state has relied on bond measures to pay for open space. He said he would also bolster the Department of Environmental Protection, whose work force has been cut from 4,000 employees when he was commissioner to less than 3,000 today, he said.

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