Sheila Y. Oliver, New Jersey’s lieutenant governor and the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office there, died on Tuesday after being rushed to the hospital the day before.
Ms. Oliver, a Democrat and longtime resident of East Orange, N.J., was elected lieutenant governor in 2017 as Gov.
In 2010, she became the first Black woman to lead the predominantly male State Assembly.
Ms. Oliver had been serving as acting governor of New Jersey since Mr. Murphy and his family left over the weekend for a vacation in Italy, where they own a home.
Mr. Murphy will return to New Jersey within the next few days, a spokesman said.
Persons:
Sheila Y, Oliver, New, Philip D, Murphy, Nick Scutari
Organizations:
Democrat
Locations:
East Orange, N.J, New Jersey, Italy