Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver dies at 71

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.”

Oliver ran for Essex County Freeholder in 1993 on an off-the-line slate backed by State Sen. Richard Codey (D-West Orange).  She lost the primary to the organization line slate headed by incumbent Joseph DiVincenzo.

Mayor Cardell Cooper appointed Oliver to serve on the East Orange Board of Education the following year.  She served there until 2000.

Following the retirement of Essex County Freeholder Arthur Wright in 1996, Essex County Democrats backed Oliver to succeed him in the East Orange-based District 3 seat.  After Wright resigned in June to become the deputy county clerk, Oliver was appointed to fill the unexpired term.

Oliver sought the Democratic nomination for mayor of East Orange in 1997.  She came within 51 votes of defeating Robert Bowser in a field of five candidates.

Democrats backed Tony Jackson to replace her as a freeholder in 1999, and in 2000 she became the deputy Essex County Administrator while Republican James Treffinger was still the county executive.  She remained in a county post, including a stint as director of the Essex County Department of Citizen Services and Economic Development, Training and Employment, until she was elected lieutenant governor.

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.

In contrast with Sweeney, Oliver was often a ferocious critic of the state’s Republican governor, Chris Christie.  She called him “mentally deranged” and a liar.

In 2011, she faced a possible challenge from Joseph Cryan (D-Union) after she backed Christie on pension reforms.

But after four years as Speaker, political alliances changed, and she was replaced by Vincent Prieto (D-Secaucus).

Following the death of Frank Lautenberg, Oliver sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2013.   She finished fourth in a special primary election that Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, won.

As a legislator, Oliver advocated for increases in the state’s minimum wage, affordable health care, better public schools, and increased funding for Planned Parenthood.

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.

Born in Newark, Oliver graduated from Lincoln University and received her master’s degree from Columbia University.  She has taught at Essex County College.  She helped found the Newark Coalition for Low-Income Housing and was director of Newark’s Office of Youth Services and Special Projects.

Oliver is survived by her mother, Jennie, and her brother, Charles.