New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver Dead at Age 71

New Jersey’s Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who was executing her duties as governor while Gov. Phil Murphy is vacationing in Italy, has died.

Olivier had been admitted to the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., and was said to be “unable to discharge the duties of acting governor at this time,” according to a statement by Communications Director Mahen Gunaratna on Monday.

It is not yet known why she was hospitalized. A cause of death has not been released. She was 71 years old.

FACT-O-RAMA! As per the New Jersey Constitution, State Senate President Nick Scutari assumed the duties of governor when Oliver was hospitalized, and will remain in charge until Murphy returns.

“When I selected her to be my running mate in 2017, Lt. Gov. Oliver was already a trailblazer in every sense of the word,” Murphy said in a statement. “I knew then that her decades of public service made her the ideal partner for me to lead the State of New Jersey. It was the best decision I ever made.”

Oliver was New Jersey’s first black lieutenant governor.

She began her political career in 1994 when she served on the East Orange School District Board of Education. She was also a member of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1996 to 1999. She lost a mayoral election for the town of East Orange in 1997.

Oliver served as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2018 and as speaker from 2010 to 2018. She also served as head of the Department of Community Affairs.

In 2013, she ran in the special election for the Senate seat after the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg but lost in the primary election.

“It is with incredible sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the passing of the Honorable Sheila Y. Oliver, Lieutenant Governor of the State of New Jersey. She was not only a distinguished public servant but also our cherished daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and hero,” the Oliver family said in a statement. “Sheila Y. Oliver leaves behind a legacy of dedication, service, and inspiration. We will remember her commitment to the people of New Jersey and her tireless efforts to uplift the community.”