AP Photo Murphy taps Oliver to lead Department of Community Affairs

Sheila Oliver, who on Tuesday was elected the state’s second lieutenant governor, will also lead the state Department of Community Affairs after taking office in January, Gov.-elect Phil Murphy said Thursday.

“From the beginning, I made it clear that I chose Sheila as my running mate to be my partner in Trenton, not just an ally on the campaign trail,” Murphy said in a statement.


This is Murphy’s first appointment of a cabinet official. The position of lieutenant governor, created after the state went through a series of governors in a short span, carries no salary.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the Republican candidate in the general election, serves as the secretary of state and earns a salary of $141,000 per year. Oliver would replace Chuck Richman at the DCA, who earns roughly the same amount as Guadagno and has worked there for three decades.

Community affairs is among the largest and most influential of state departments, overseeing a large portfolio that includes oversight of local government, economic development initiatives and affordable housing issues.

The department was key in managing the recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy and is also involved in overseeing the controversial takeover of Atlantic City.

Murphy said the “depth and breadth of Sheila's experience in local, county, and state government makes her an ideal choice as commissioner.”

“By helping our communities move forward, Sheila will be a critical part of our mission to bring a stronger and fairer economy to all of New Jersey,” the governor-elect said.

Oliver, whose appointment is subject to advise and consent from the state Senate, was the first and only African American woman to serve as Assembly speaker. She was ousted in 2015 by current Speaker Vincent Prieto, who on Thursday agreed to step aside and let Assembly Craig Coughlin take the reigns.

An administrator for Essex County and an East Orange resident, Oliver has served in various roles in local and county politics. She was an Essex County freeholder and also worked as the director of the Essex County Department of Economic Development, Training and Employment.

Oliver was elected to the Assembly in 2003 and later served two terms as speaker, the result of a power-sharing deal between South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo.

Even though she helped usher through an overhaul of public employee benefits, Oliver feuded with Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney through much of her tenure and lost the support of South Jersey Democrats.

Still, she is seen as someone who knows how Trenton works and can help Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive, navigate the political process. The governor-elect, who was also a U.S. ambassador to Germany, has never held elected office before.

“The people of New Jersey connected with the Murphy-Oliver ticket because of our message of strengthening the economy from the middle class out,” Oliver said in a statement. “Nothing is more critical to the future of our state than the future of our communities.”