Meet Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver's replacement in the N.J. Assembly

Britnee Timberlake, previously New Jersey's only black female county freeholder director, is now the newest member of the state Legislature.

Tiberlake, 31, was sworn in Monday to fill the state Assembly seat vacated by Sheila Oliver, who earlier this month became the first black woman to assume statewide office in Garden State history when she took over as lieutenant governor.

A Democrat like Oliver, Timberlake will represent the 34th legislative district -- which includes parts of Essex County, the state's most populous county -- in the Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.

Oliver -- who was also the state's first black female Assembly speaker -- held the seat since 2004 and won re-election to another term in November. But at the same time, she was elected as Gov. Phil Murphy's second-in-command, meaning she had to give up the Assembly spot. State law bans dual office-holding.

The Democratic Party in Essex County was tasked with picking her replacement. They appointed Timberlake, who was elected to the county's freeholder board in 2014 and was re-elected in November.

Timberlake, an East Orange resident, had to resign her freeholder post to serve in the Assembly.

She will serve until November, when she faces a special election for the remainder of Oliver's two-year term.

"It's interesting times in our country," Timberlake said after being sworn in Monday. "And I know I'm preaching to the choir because our country is as diverse as this room here. But I look forward to working with everyone to ensure that we protect those very people that we ... go to the grocery store with."

Timberlake is also the founder and executive director of the affordable housing nonprofit Essex Community Land Trust.

She received a bachelor's degree in political science and a masters in public administration from Seton Hall University.

The Assembly will soon get two other new members to succeed a pair of assemblywomen whom Murphy picked for his cabinet. Elizabeth Muoio is Murphy's nominee for state treasurer, while Marlene Caride is his choice for commissioner of banking and investment.

Both women still need to be confirmed by the state Senate, but they have already resigned from the Assembly, said Tom Hester, a spokesman for the Assembly Democrats.

Their successors have not been chosen yet, Hester said.

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