Shelia Oliver, Essex County Democrat was the first woman of color to serve as Assembly Speaker, and to win a statewide election. Sheila Y. Oliver, the trailblazing two-term lieutenant governor who became the first woman of color to serve as Assembly Speaker and the first to win a statewide election, died today after a long illness. She was 71.
Oliver spent 27 years in public office as a fierce advocate for social justice, affordable housing, opportunities for women, and New Jersey’s economically disadvantaged communities. In 2017, Phil Murphy, then the Democratic nominee for governor, picked Oliver as his running mate. They defeated Republicans Kim Guadagno and Carlos Rendo by a fourteen-point margin. Murphy also picked Oliver as Commissioner of Community Affairs in his cabinet.
“I knew then that her decades of public service made her the ideal partner for me to lead the State of New Jersey,” Murphy said. It was the best decision I ever made.” Murphy said that Oliver “did not view these issues in the abstract because she lived with them every day of her life.”
“She brought a unique and invaluable perspective to our public policy discourse and served as an inspiration to millions of women and girls everywhere, especially young women of color,” he said. “She was an incredibly genuine and kind person whose friendship and partnership will be irreplaceable.”
After legislative redistricting in 2001 created a solidly Democratic 34th district represented by Republican State Sen. Norman Robertson (R-Clifton), Oliver became a candidate for the State Senate. But Essex Democrats backed Assemblywoman Nia Gill (D-Montclair) instead, and Oliver lost the primary by a 78%-18% margin and a plurality of 8,243 votes.
Two years later, when the Essex County Democratic organization tossed Gill from their ticket and backed former Assemblyman LeRoy Jones, Jr. (D-East Orange), Oliver became a candidate for State Assembly. Democrats also withdrew party support for freshman Assemblyman Willis Edwards (D-East Orange), and Oliver ran with Jones and Assemblyman Peter Eagler (D-Clifton). While Gill narrowly edged out Jones for the Senate, Oliver was the top vote-getter in her race, running 1,469 votes ahead of Gill’s running mate, Helyn Baltimore.
She became the Assistant Majority Leader in 2006 and chaired the Assembly Human Services Committee. A Senate legislative coup in 2009 led to Oliver’s meteoric rise in power. As part of a deal for Steve Sweeney to take out Richard Codey as Senate President, Oliver became the new Assembly Speaker.
She became the first Democratic woman to serve as Speaker – Marion West Higgins (R-Westwood) held the post in 1965 – and the first Black Speaker – S. Howard Woodson (D-Trenton) served from 1974 to 1976.
Oliver became New Jersey’s second lieutenant governor in 2018, a position created nearly a decade earlier after New Jersey watched two consecutive governors resign and be replaced by the Senate President. As head of the Department of Community Affairs, Oliver managed the state’s takeover of Atlantic City. She also championed tax incentives for neighborhood revitalizations, urban enterprise zones, and programs to prevent homelessness.
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New Jersey State Senator Richard Codey is Retiring.
