New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has appointed Shirley U. Emehelu as lieutenant governor and secretary of state. Emehelu took office on the 9th, making New Jersey home to its first administration in which both the governor and lieutenant governor are women.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has appointed Shirley U. Emehelu as the state's new lieutenant governor and secretary of state. According to the governor's office, Emehelu took office on Monday, the 9th. This gives New Jersey, for the first time in its history, an administration in which both the governor and the lieutenant governor are women. New Jersey's lieutenant governor also serves as secretary of state, who oversees the state's elections.
Since the start of the Sherrill administration, Lt. Gov. Emehelu served as acting State Comptroller, leading efforts to uncover fraud and waste in public spending. She then served as acting secretary of state, overseeing the Nov. 3 election last week. From 2022 to 2024, she served as Executive Assistant Attorney General, the third-ranking position in the state Attorney General's Office, directing lawsuits and enforcement actions on the environment, civil rights, consumer and worker protection, gun safety and privacy.
Before that, she spent nine years as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, where she prosecuted complex financial fraud cases and served as chief of the asset recovery and money laundering unit. She is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School.
Gov. Sherrill said, "Throughout her career, Shirley has fought for New Jersey families, from prosecuting financial fraud and uncovering wasteful spending to defending civil rights and protecting consumers. We will work together so that every community has a voice in state policy." Lt. Gov. Emehelu said, "While continuing in my role as secretary of state, I will work to lower the cost of living, expand opportunity in every community and make sure government works for the people."