Since rocketing from near obscurity to leadership, she's never shaken the persistent rumor that dissident Democrats will oust her in a coup Watch video
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver on the dais during a voting session at the Statehouse in 2010.TRENTON — It’s been a tough year and a half for Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. Ever since rocketing from near obscurity to legislative leadership, she’s never shaken the persistent rumor that dissident Democrats will oust her in a coup.
But what if Oliver doesn’t even want the job anymore?
"There are some times as a legislative leader when I want to be let out of my cage," she said in an interview. "Perhaps I could be a better voice for the constituencies that I care about if I did not have to maintain the proper balance and decorum."
Still, Oliver (D-Essex) said there are good reasons to stay in a post that makes her the state’s most powerful elected official after the governor and Senate president.
"The Assembly has been able to minimize some of the radical policy directions that the Christie administration would seek to go into," she said.
Oliver’s two-year term ends in January, when she’ll face her first re-election for speaker if she wants to keep the job. Speculation over her political life expectancy grew last month when she pushed cuts to public worker benefits despite objections from the majority of her party.
Her decision will have a major impact on the Statehouse — the speaker controls the flow of legislation in the Assembly. She’s also been a political wild card, walking a fine line between the demands of her restless caucus and those of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who has often worked closely with Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester).
Looking less than enthusiastic, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (left) and Senate President Stephen Sweeney applaud as Gov. Chris Christie delivers his State of the State address in the Assembly Chamber of the Statehouse in January.Some Democrats praised Oliver for her handling of a difficult political situation.
"The governor’s agenda is mean-spirited," said Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). "And she does try to slow his mean actions down."
But Oliver has also disappointed multiple factions in her party. Many Democrats want to stop, not just slow, Christie’s policies.
Meanwhile, influential figures like George Norcross, the South Jersey power broker, and the Rev. Reginald Jackson, head of the Black Ministers Council, want Oliver to forge changes to urban schools that the teachers union opposes.
"If you ask me if she’s been as strong as I’d like her to be, the answer is no," said Jackson, who said he remains an Oliver supporter.
If Oliver decides to run for speaker again, it may be difficult to beat her despite grumbling about her leadership. For starters, insiders said there’s no consensus on a replacement.
Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic), whose name has been floated as a possible candidate, expects Oliver to keep the job if she wants it.
"Anyone who tries to unseat her would be foolish," he said. "I think she would have the vast majority, if not universal approval, from the caucus."
Oliver said she’s not concerned about a leadership challenge, saying she has good relationships within her party.
"They know what issues I’m committed to, what constituencies I’m committed to," she said. "I don’t think we differ on far too many issues."
That hasn’t stopped speculation about her imminent demise, which reached a fever pitch in the run-up to the Assembly’s June 24 vote on cuts to public worker benefits. Jackson was nervous enough to call Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union), Oliver’s chief antagonist in the caucus, to warn against a coup, two sources said. They declined to be identified discussing private conversations.
Jackson wouldn’t confirm the call, but he said he worked the phones on Oliver’s behalf.
"I was not sure it was really going to happen, but I wasn’t going to take the chance," he said.
Republicans were also ready with a backup plan. If Oliver’s power was challenged, every Republican would cross the aisle to support her and ensure the controversial bill passed, according to sources with knowledge of the plan.
The coup never materialized. Cryan, who has previously aspired to be speaker himself, denied any plan to oust Oliver.
"Completely false. Made up," he said. "That story should start with ‘once upon a time.’ "
Phil Thigpen, chairman of the Essex County Democratic Committee, said a coup would have been "suicide" for Cryan. He pointed out that Oliver is the first black female speaker.
"That’s something that someone with those kinds of aspirations should strongly consider," he said.
Apart from race and gender issues, replacing Oliver would be a tricky proposition. Unlike running for elected office, becoming a leader within the Legislature requires navigating the shadowy world of backroom traditions, alliances and rivalries.
That’s how Oliver reached her current position. Her rise was part of a 2009 coup plotted by Norcross and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. The top two posts in the Legislature are traditionally split between the state’s north and south. So when South Jersey’s Sweeney replaced Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) as Senate president, there needed to be a North Jersey Democrat to lead the Assembly. That was Oliver.
Oliver since has battled allegations she’s beholden to party bosses. Bill Lavin, president of the state Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, said Oliver has "a big credibility and leadership problem." During negotiations over cuts to public worker benefits and arbitration for union contracts, Oliver would say one thing in private meetings and then do another, he said.
Oliver called Lavin’s version a "misrepresentation," saying she promised only to listen to the unions’ concerns.
A vote on legislative leaders won’t happen until after the November election, in which all 120 seats in the Legislature are up for grabs. Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester) said any discussion of leadership roles was premature.
"First, voters need to decide who will be sitting in the room," he said. "If Republicans get the majority, you’ll be having this conversation with somebody else."
By Chris Megerian and Matt Friedman/The Star-Ledger