Just stating the obvious: the Democrats majority in the New Jersey State Assembly dropped today from 54-26 to 53 seats, with the resignation of Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) to become the Lt. Governor. Two other vacancies are on the horizon: Liz Muoio (D-Pennington) is Gov. Phil Murphy’s pick to be State Treasurer, and Marlene Cardide (D-Ridgefield) has been nominated as Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.
Democrats aren’t worried about the temporary reduction of their massive majority: all three seats will be filled by Democrats at special election conventions.
In District 34, the leading candidate to replace Oliver is Essex County Freeholder Britnee Timberlake, according to a report in InsiderNJ. The decision will essentially be made by the Essex County Democratic Chairman, LeRoy Jones. Democratic County Committee members in Essex and Passaic counties are expected to ratify Jones’ choice in the next month.