Sherrill begins governor’s term retaining Murphy-era leaders, with a few gaps

Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill prepares to take office today with almost a full slate of cabinet picks and other key positions, some of them holdovers from her fellow Democratic predecessor.  

The unusual — for New Jersey, anyway – administrative transition within the same party takes place officially at noon. Even when party control of the governor’s office changes, the transition typically is relatively smooth.  

There should be no bumps in at least eight departments or agencies where Sherrill is retaining leadership chosen by Phil Murphy, who held office for eight years.  

“Obviously she was impressed with many of Governor Murphy’s picks,” said Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, wrote in an emailed response to questions about Sherrill’s cabinet picks. Rasmussen said it makes sense for her to keep “successful, non-controversial” cabinet members, but that had not been clear until her recent announcements. “This is one of those areas where the Governor-elect did not offer many clues during the campaign about how closely to the Murphy administration she would govern.” 

Sherrill trickled news of her cabinet picks over the last two months, with a flurry at the end of last week. Still, three leadership positions remain unfulfilled, including such high-profile spots as State Police superintendent. 

All of Sherrill’s departmental nominees must be confirmed by the Senate, a process likely to take several months. They act as interim heads until confirmation, although it’s not unusual for a governor’s nominee to serve for years in an acting capacity. For example, Kevin Walsh leaves his job as state comptroller after serving for almost six years as the acting government finance watchdog, having never been confirmed.  

Rasmussen said that, traditionally, many of the governor’s cabinet picks were confirmed on the same day the governor was sworn in, but that won’t be the case this year, with the inaugural’s happening in Newark and not the state capital. 

Credit: (NJDCA)

“With the same party in control of both the front office and the Senate, a timely confirmation schedule is likely — of course, assuming no major questions are raised about a nominee,” he said. 

Governor’s office staff, on the other hand, do not need Senate confirmation. Sherrill announced shortly after her election in November that she was naming her top campaign staff to key roles: Alex Ball as chief of staff and Tim Lydon as chief counsel. Sherrill also created the position of chief operating officer within the governor’s office, giving it to Kellie Doucette, who served as executive director of her transition. And she named Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell secretary of state, the same position held by Murphy’s second lieutenant, Tahesha Way.   

The department and agency heads whom Sherrill is seeking to retain are: Department of Agriculture Commissioner Ed Wengryn; Chief Innovation Officer Dave Cole; Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Jacquelyn Suarez; Department of Corrections Commissioner Victoria Kuhn; and president of the NJ Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority Lisa Asare. Sherrill is also keeping Kris Kolluri at head of NJ Transit, as well as making him executive director of the NJ Turnpike Authority, and Brig. Gen. Yvonne Mays as head of the newly split Department of Military Affairs. Finally, Sherrill is keeping Christine Norbut Beyer at the helm of the Department of Children and Families on an interim basis. 

These are the new nominations made by Sherrill: 

• Attorney general and head of the Department of Law and Public Safety — Jennifer Davenport, who worked with Sherrill in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, spent four years in the state attorney general’s office and most recently was at PSEG. 
• Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance — Susan Ochs, CEO of a consulting firm focused on leadership and organizational strategy and a former governor’s senior adviser on economic and business policy. 
• State comptroller — Shirley Emehelu, a former executive assistant attorney general who worked with Sherrill in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. 
• Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Authority – Evan Weiss, president and CEO of the Newark Alliance and a former senior adviser to Murphy for finance and major projects. 
• Commissioner of the Department of Education – Lily Laux, a former deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency and principal at ILO Group, an education policy and strategy firm. 

• 

  Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection – Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters and a council member in Franklin Township, Somerset County.

• Commissioner of the Department of Health – Dr. Raynard Washington, director of public health for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and former chief epidemiologist and deputy health commissioner for Philadelphia. 
• Secretary of Higher Education – Margo Chaly, a former private practice lawyer who most recently was executive director of the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority in the Murphy administration. 
• Department of Human Services – Stephen Cha, a former counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services who spent a dozen years in the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 
• Director of Homeland Security – Tom Hauck, the director of intelligence and operations in the state Office of Homeland Security and a Marine Corps veteran. 
• Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicles Commission – Rosalie Johnson, a fellow with the Institute for Responsive Government, a think tank, and former senior deputy director of the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles. 
• Department of Transportation — Prita Jain, president of Americas for Mace Consult who worked as an engineer on the original ARC Tunnel project.
• Department of Treasury – Aaron Binder, the deputy state treasurer in the Murphy administration and former budget director for the Assembly Budget Committee and deputy executive director of the Assembly Majority Office. 
• Department of Veterans Affairs – Vincent Solomeno, who served as the deputy commissioner of the formerly combined Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and was the state administrator of veterans affairs. 

Key positions for which Sherrill has yet to name a nominee include the heads of the Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor and Workforce Development and State Police.