In the wake of a sexual harassment scandal that led to the resignation of her second-in-command, Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Monday announced her choice for the state’s new lieutenant governor: Shirley Emehelu, a former prosecutor who oversaw last week’s election.
Emehelu, 48, who is a Nigerian American woman, is the first immigrant to serve as lieutenant governor in the state. This is also the first time the governor and lieutenant governor in New Jersey are both women.
» READ MORE: N.J. Gov. Mikie Sherrill has selected her new lieutenant governor after Caldwell resigned in scandal, sources say
Emehelu’s predecessor, Dale Caldwell, resigned in late September, after an outside law firm investigating claims of sexual harassment and ethics violations against him concluded some of those offenses were true. Caldwell has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
When asked if gender was a consideration in selecting Caldwell’s successor, Sherrill said: “I didn’t have a preconceived notion that I needed to have another woman serving here. I feel like as governor, I had that handled.”
The top responsibility of the lieutenant governor is to serve as acting governor when Sherrill leaves to travel outside New Jersey — which is likely to be often as her national profile grows.
Sherrill said she and Emehelu served together as prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where Emehelu, as chief of the Asset Recovery and Anti-Money Laundering unit, prosecuted financial fraud cases.
“While she was there, she also oversaw the restitution program that helped victims of crimes rebuild their lives,” Sherrill said moments before state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner swore in Emehelu.
The governor also praised her second-in-command’s recent service as acting secretary of state, which oversees elections. It was another role Caldwell relinquished when he resigned and Emehelu, formerly the state comptroller, assumed in late September.
“By the time the polls closed on Tuesday, about 3 million New Jerseyans had voted without even a hiccup,” Sherrill said.
The New Jersey Secretary of State’s Office has been under scrutiny since Sherrill disclosed in July that 6,600 noncitizens had been registered to vote through the state motor vehicle commission’s motor voter process in 2023 and 2024. The governor said about 400 people had illegally voted.
Emehelu was employed by the law firm of Chiesa, Shahinian & Giantomasi, which Sherrill selected to investigate how the voter registration snafu happened. The investigation is ongoing.
Sherrill said it was important to choose a candidate who understood the concerns of both the immigrant and Black communities. “I do think it was important that we had a lot of communities represented across our government,” she said.
Sherrill also acknowledged that Assembly member Verlina Reynolds Jackson (D., Mercer), the chair of the New Jersey Black Legislative Caucus, had been a contender for the lieutenant governor role, but on Friday took herself out of the running. The governor called Reynolds Jackson “a fantastic partner” who wished to remain in her “powerful position” so she could ”advance issues across the state.”
As word of Reynolds Jackson’s candidacy spread, some Black leaders and activists took to social media in the last several weeks urging the governor to select another Black man to replace Caldwell, rather than Reynolds Jackson.
A week ago, John E. Harmon, president and CEO of the New Jersey African American Chamber of Commerce, posted a video saying that, speaking on his own behalf, Reynolds Jackson, a “hardworking” lawmaker, “had not earned the right to be the next lieutenant governor.” Harmon did not mention gender, but rather his disappointment in previous lawmakers from the Trenton area who had been elevated to higher office and who, he said, “had not done enough to change the lives and/or businesses.”
Addressing all of the officials serving in Sherrill’s cabinet who attended the swearing-in at the statehouse, Emehelu said she “looked forward to working alongside Gov. Sherrill and these dedicated public servants to make life more affordable and expand opportunities for all communities — especially helping the governor meet the goals of the Black agenda and help all our kids, including mine, build a bright future.”