Gov. Mikie Sherrill will nominate Mary Campbell Cruz, a longtime Democratic operative and the chief of staff to Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), to serve in her cabinet as chair and CEO of the Civil Service Commission.
Cruz served as the political director of 1199 SEIU for nearly five years, and spent another five years as director of the New Jersey Healthcare Workers Alliance for Quality in Long-Term Care, where she directed the labor-management partnership with 1199 SEIU in nursing homes.
She joined Norcross’s staff as district director in 2016 and has been chief of staff since 2021.
“As a labor leader for one of the largest healthcare unions in the nation and a top advisor in the halls of Congress, Mary has been a constant advocate for New Jersey workers,” said Sherrill. “Mary believes deeply in the work of New Jersey’s incredible public servants – she’s one herself – and understands that a strong, professional civil service is essential to delivering the efficient, responsive government our residents deserve.
A field representative for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee from 2006 to 2008, Cruz was the field director for John Adler’s successful campaign for Congress in 2008, and was Adler’s district director during his single term in the House. In 2012, she was the campaign manager when Adler’s widow, Shelley, ran for the 3rd district House seat against Republican Rep. Jon Runyan.
In 2006, PoliticsNJ named her as one of the state’s rising stars.
She will replace Allison Chris Myers, who became the first transgender cabinet member when Gov. Phil Murphy nominated her in 2023 to succeed Deirdre Webster Cobb. She will become acting chair and CEO on March 9. Sherrill said Myers will remain at the Civil Service Commission as an advisor.
“Throughout my career in public service, I have strived to ensure that working people are treated with dignity and respect — and that the systems we rely on are fair, transparent, and accountable,” Cruz stated. “I look forward to working each and every day with our state’s dedicated public servants to strengthen our civil service system, support the workforce that keeps New Jersey running, and help deliver the high-quality services our residents deserve.”
The Civil Service post used to have a higher profile in the cabinet than it does today and was held by prominent figures in state politics, like Rev. Lester Clee, a former Assembly Speaker and state senator from Essex County who carried 15 counties in his unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1937. Others included: William Carpetnter, a Princeton political science professor who served as the first director of the Office of Legislative Services; William F. Kelly, Jr., who later served as the state senator from Hudson County and Democratic county chairman – and sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 1969; Thelma Parkinson Sharp, who became the first woman to run for statewide office when, at age 32, she was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 1930; and the Rev. S. Howard Woodson, who was the first Black Speaker of the New Jersey State Assembly.
In 1986, the post was reconstituted as the New Jersey Department of Personnel, with former Gloucester County GOP Chairman Eugene McCaffrey as the commissioner; former Assemblyman Anthony “Skip” Cimino also served as commissioner. The Department was abolished in 2008.
This story was updated at 12:25 PM with comment from Sherrill and Cruz.
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