Sheila Oliver facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sheila Oliver
Oliver in 2020
2nd Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey
In office January 16, 2018 – August 1, 2023
Governor	Phil Murphy
Preceded by	Kim Guadagno
Succeeded by	Vacant
Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
In office January 16, 2018 – August 1, 2023
Governor	Phil Murphy
Preceded by	Charles Richman
Succeeded by	Vacant
169th Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office January 12, 2010 – January 14, 2014
Preceded by	Joseph J. Roberts
Succeeded by	Vincent Prieto
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 34th district
In office January 13, 2004 – January 9, 2018
Preceded by	Willis Edwards
Succeeded by	Britnee Timberlake
Personal details
Born	(1952-07-14)July 14, 1952 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	August 1, 2023(2023-08-01) (aged 71) Livingston, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Lincoln University (BA) Columbia University (MSW)

Sheila Y. Oliver (July 14, 1952 – August 1, 2023) was an American politician who served as the second-ever lieutenant governor of New Jersey from 2018 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Oliver was the first Black woman to serve as lieutenant governor of New Jersey and was the first woman of color elected to statewide office in New Jersey.

In the 1990s, Oliver served on the Board of Education of the East Orange School District, ultimately serving as the district's president. Oliver represented the 34th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2018, serving as speaker of the body from 2010 to 2014. Oliver was the first Black woman to serve as speaker of the General Assembly and the second Black woman in the history of the United States to lead a state legislative body. She ran for U.S. Senate in the 2013 special election, finishing fourth in a Democratic primary that was won by Cory Booker.

In the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election, Oliver was chosen as the running mate of Democrat Phil Murphy. After the Murphy/Oliver ticket won the election, Oliver was sworn in as lieutenant governor on January 16, 2018. During her tenure as lieutenant governor, Oliver also served as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Murphy and Oliver were reelected to their respective posts in 2021.

Early life and education

Sheila Y. Oliver was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, where she graduated from Weequahic High School in 1970. Oliver graduated cum laude with a B.A. in sociology from Lincoln University in 1974 and was awarded an MSW from Columbia University in community organization, planning and administration in 1976. On May 6, 2018, Oliver received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Lincoln University.

Early career

Oliver worked in both the public and private sectors, including serving as executive director of The Leaguers, Inc., a northern New Jersey non-profit social services organization. She also taught at the college level, including serving as an adjunct faculty member at Essex County College and Caldwell University.

Oliver served on the Board of Education of the East Orange School District from 1994 to 2000, and was chosen by her peers to serve as its vice president from 1998 to 1999 and President from 1999 to 2000. She served on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders from District Three for one term from 1996 to 1999, but was defeated for a second term on the board in the June 1999 Democratic primary election. In 1997, Oliver ran for mayor in the City of East Orange, narrowly losing the Democratic primary election to Robert L. Bowser.

New Jersey State Assembly (2004–2018)

As a part of intra-party deal making in 2003, Oliver and incumbent Assemblyman Peter C. Eagler were chosen to be the party-backed candidates in the June 2003 primary election for General Assembly from the 34th district. Incumbent Assemblyman Willis Edwards was dropped from the ticket as a result, and Oliver and Eagler won their Democratic primary.

Prior to her initial run for lieutenant governor, Oliver was re-elected to the Assembly six times to two-year terms in every cycle following her first election victory in 2003.

Tenure as Speaker (2010–2014)

On November 23, 2009, Oliver was elected unanimously by Assembly Democrats to become the 169th Speaker of the Assembly. Her election made her the first Black woman to serve as speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, the second woman in New Jersey history to serve as Assembly speaker (the first being Marion West Higgins, who served in 1965), and the second African American to hold the post (the first being S. Howard Woodson, who first held the post in 1974). Nationwide, she became the second African American woman to lead a state legislature after Karen Bass of California.

Oliver as Speaker of the Assembly in 2011

As Speaker, Oliver backed Governor Chris Christie's reforms to public workers' pensions and benefits. Police and fire unions were furious with the Speaker, claiming that she told them the issue was still under consideration before announcing the bill would be introduced later that same day. Then-Assemblyman Joseph Cryan was unsuccessful in his efforts to convince his fellow Democrats to stage a coup against reappointing Oliver as Speaker. Oliver was elected in 2011 for a second term as Speaker under the terms of a deal made with Senator Nicholas Sacco, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., and South Jersey political boss George Norcross in which she agreed to move legislation forward only with the advance support of 41 Assembly Democrats.

Oliver served in the Assembly on the Commerce and Economic Development Committee, the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee, the Joint Committee on Economic Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity, and the Joint Committee on the Public Schools. In November 2013, Assembly Democrats chose Vincent Prieto to succeed Oliver as speaker, which he did in January 2014. In the 2014–15 Assembly term, Oliver was designated speaker emeritus of the Assembly.

2013 U.S. Senate special election

On June 10, 2013, Oliver formally announced that she would run in the special election for the Senate seat which had been previously held by the late Frank Lautenberg. As a candidate, she advocated for immigration reform and for federal investment in industrial areas. In the August 13 special Democratic primary, Cory Booker prevailed; Oliver came in fourth place out of four candidates, winning four percent of the vote.

Lieutenant governor of New Jersey (2018–2023)

2017 election

In July 2017, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Murphy announced that he had chosen Oliver as his running mate in the 2017 election for governor of New Jersey. Murphy and Oliver defeated the Republican ticket of Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and Mayor Carlos Rendo of Woodcliff Lake. Murphy announced he would also appoint Oliver to serve as commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, a cabinet position, made under a provision of the New Jersey Constitution that allows the governor to appoint his lieutenant governor to a cabinet post without requiring the approval of the New Jersey Senate.

Oliver as lieutenant governor, presenting an award to Charles F. Lowery in 2019

New Jersey law allows a candidate to run for two elective offices simultaneously, but does not allow one person to hold two offices simultaneously. Oliver, in addition to being elected Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, also won re-election to her legislative seat in the General Assembly in 2017. When Carlos Rendo, during their one televised debate, challenged her decision to run for both seats, Oliver had said that she had filed to run for re-election before she was chosen by Murphy as his running mate and would resign from her Assembly seat if she and Murphy were elected. Oliver resigned her Assembly seat on January 9, 2018 and was succeeded by Britnee Timberlake.

Tenure and reelection

Oliver was sworn in as lieutenant governor on January 16, 2018. She was the second lieutenant governor in the history of the state. Oliver was also the first black woman to serve as lieutenant governor of New Jersey and the first woman of color elected to statewide office in New Jersey. Oliver served as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs during her tenure as lieutenant governor.

As commissioner, Oliver focused on policies that supported housing programs and municipal government services, while also providing support to revitalization projects. During her time as acting governor, Oliver signed legislation related to several areas, including aid for caregivers of the elderly and disabled, financial literacy education in schools, wage protections, and restorative juvenile justice.

On November 2, 2021, Governor Murphy and Oliver were re-elected, defeating the Republican ticket of Jack Ciattarelli and Diane Allen by a 51%-48% margin. Prior to her death, Oliver was viewed as a potential candidate to succeed Murphy as governor in the 2025 election.

Death

On July 28, 2023, Oliver assumed the role of acting governor while Phil Murphy was out of state on vacation in Italy. However, on July 31, she suffered a medical event and was hospitalized at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. Nicholas Scutari, the New Jersey Senate president, served as acting governor in her place. Oliver died the following day, August 1, 2023, at the age of 71.

Following news of her death, a number of Democratic and Republican politicians paid tribute, with Representative Frank Pallone describing her as a "trailblazer in every sense of the word" who "always fought for what was right".

Electoral history

See also

In Spanish: Sheila Oliver para niños

• List of female lieutenant governors in the United States
• List of female speakers of legislatures in the United States
• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States