NJ Gov. Sherrill appoints new lieutenant governor
Shirley Emehelu will be New Jersey's fifth lieutenant governor.
Six weeks after Dale Caldwell resigned as lieutenant governor of New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherill has appointed someone new to that position.
Shirley Emehelu was sworn-in to the job during a ceremony at the New Jersey Statehouse. It’s the first time that two women will hold the posts of governor and lieutenant governor.
The governor says she has known Emehelu for more than a decade, going back to their time working in the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office, where Emehelu was an assistant federal prosecutor.
"I’ve known Shirley for more than a decade as a fellow working mom at Watchung Elementary School in Montclair and a colleague at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She spent nine years as an assistant United States attorney, prosecuting complex financial fraud and public corruption cases," said Gov. Sherrill.
Sherrill hired Emehelu as her state comptroller when Sherrill was first elected and then moved her into the role of secretary of state when Dr. Dale Caldwell resigned. Emehelu says she is ready to do her part.
“The throughline across my federal and state service has been defending the people who are counting on government to do right by them," said Emehelu.
Caldwell stepped away in September after being accused of ethics violations and for making a sexually inappropriate comment to a staffer.
In announcing the hire, Gov. Sherrill said she was not looking for a specific gender.
“We have an incredibly diverse state and I committed to making sure my government looked like and heard from the people we represent," said Sherrill.
Emehelu is a Nigerian American. Sherrill did not hesitate to say she will lean on her to serve the immigrant community and to help those in the black community on issues of healthcare and owning a home.
Emehelu will serve as the state’s fifth lieutenant governor.
