Sheila Oliver’s successor in the State Assembly will be Britnee Timberlake, an Essex County Freeholder from East Orange. Passaic County Democrats signed off on her candidacy tonight, which means she’ll likely be unopposed in a special election convention for the seat that Oliver vacated Tuesday to become Lt. Governor.
Timberlake is a protege of Assemblyman Thomas Giblin (D-Montclair).
The daughter of an Army Sergeant and a special education teacher, Timberlake was elected Freeholder in 2014 when incumbent Carol Clark retired. She was the Freeholder President from 2015 until a few weeks ago.
In 2016, Timberlake led the Essex County Clean Jobs Initiative, a law aimed at creating job training and placement for in the specialized trade of environmental lead, asbestos, and contamination remediation.
Once she takes her Assembly seat, Democrats in Freeholder District 3 will hold another special election convention to replace her.