New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver died suddenly at age 71 on Tuesday, Aug. 1, her family confirmed.
No cause of death was given.
Oliver was the acting governor of New Jersey while Gov. Phil Murphy was on vacation with his family in Italy.
She made history as the first Black female elected to a statewide office in New Jersey.
In a statement, Oliver’s family said she was taken to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center on Monday, July 31, suffering from an undisclosed ailment and was unable to discharge her duties as acting governor.
The family requested privacy while they mourn the loss of “their beloved Sheila.”
But residents of New Jersey who elected Oliver are demanding to know how she died.
According to American Thinker:
“Seems the cause of death was unimportant, and the media is remarkably incurious about getting answers. So far, nobody’s been told what she died of, let alone that when she was running for office, and for that matter, when she was serving as acting governor, she may have had a potentially fatal medical condition, which could easily have been the case.”
Gov. Murphy is cutting his Italy vacation short to return to New Jersey on Thursday. The governor owns a home in Italy and he was expected to return to the U.S. in mid-August, according to ABC News.
It’s doubtful that Gov. Murphy would have left Oliver in charge of running the state if he knew she was ill or had a fatal medical condition.
