New Jersey’s Lt Governor Sheila Oliver, a pioneering Black politician, dies at 71

New Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, one of the state's most prominent Black leaders, passed away on Tuesday (August 1) at the age of 71 after a sudden illness. Oliver was serving as New Jersey's acting governor while Governor Phil Murphy and his family were on vacation, Associated Press reported.

A statement from Murphy's office said that Oliver had been hospitalised on Monday at the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston with an undisclosed medical condition. Murphy said that he and his family were distraught at the news. Murphy added that naming Oliver as lieutenant governor was the best decision he ever made. While the governor was out of state, Oliver also oversaw the Department of Community Affairs, which coordinates state aid to towns and cities and supervises code enforcement.

First Black woman to hold statewide elected office in New Jersey

Sheila Oliver became the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office in New Jersey, winning the vote alongside Murphy in 2017 and again in 2021. Oliver made history in 2010 by becoming the first Black woman to lead the state Assembly. While serving as the acting governor, Oliver signed several bills into law.

In 2021, she signed a bill that established a pilot programme to overhaul the state’s juvenile justice system in four cities and which aimed to reintegrate young people into their communities. In the same year, she signed another measure that revived a defunct fund for “urban enterprise zones” aimed at driving economic development in cities through lower sales tax rates, the Associated Press report said.

'Devastating news'

Oliver's sudden illness and death have stunned officials. “This is devastating news. I am shocked at the passing of Lieutenant Governor Oliver. Sheila is a pathbreaker and has been one of the foremost leaders of our great state for decades. I am still processing this,” New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. said in a statement.

“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 colour,” Governor Murphy said on Tuesday.

Oliver's family, meanwhile, remembered her as “our cherished daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and hero.”

It is unclear who would succeed her. The state's constitution calls for Senate President Nicholas Scutari to serve as acting governor if the governor and lieutenant governor are out of state or incapacitated. The constitution requires Murphy to appoint Oliver’s successor within 45 days.

Murphy's spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said the governor will be “returning soon” but didn’t specify when.

(With inputs from agencies)

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