Joseph Roberts Archives - New Jersey Globe

Barry Parker, former Assembly Speaker and Senate Minority Leader, dies at 93

September 17, 2026 3:15 pmSeptember 21, 2026 7:22 pm

Barry T. Parker, an affable and admired former Assembly Speaker and Senate Minority Leader who sought the Republican nomination for governor of New Jersey in 1981, died on September 16. He was 93. During his fourteen years in Trenton, Parker...

Three N.J. counties have waited more than 165 years for an Assembly Speaker

August 17, 2026 9:36 am

When William Kennedy of Sussex County finished his second year as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, James Madison was president, the War of 1812 had not yet begun, and Abraham Lincoln would not be born for another eight...

Trailblazer: Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver

January 19, 2026 12:15 amJanuary 18, 2026 8:58 pm

Sheila Oliver was New Jersey’s 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, spent 27 years in public office as a fierce advocate for...

Trailblazer: Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver

January 20, 2025 12:33 amJanuary 19, 2025 9:30 pm

Sheila Oliver was New Jersey’s 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, spent 27 years in public office as a fierce advocate for...

Trailblazer: Sheila Y. Oliver

January 15, 2024 12:19 amJanuary 14, 2024 4:47 pm

Sheila Oliver was New Jersey’s 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, spent 27 years in public office as a fierce advocate for...

Trailblazer: Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver

January 16, 2023 12:16 amJanuary 16, 2023 9:23 am

Sheila Oliver is the first Black to serve as Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, the first Black woman to win a statewide election in New Jersey, and was the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of the New Jersey...

Oroho sees potential for cooperation with South Jersey Democrats

January 31, 2022 1:12 pm

With former Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford)’s redistricting commission ouster exposing a potential rift between South and North Jersey Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho (R-Franklin) said today that he is optimistic Republicans can work with any Democrats who...