Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will keep Community Affairs Commissioner Jacquelyn Suárez in her cabinet after she takes office on January 20.
Suárez becomes the second member of Gov. Phil Murphy’s current cabinet to be retained; Sherrill announced on December 22 that Adjutant General Yvonne Mays will stay on as Commissioner of Military Affairs.
The 39-year-old Sea Girt resident was named acting commissioner in 2023 following the death of Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver. The New Jersey State Senate confirmed her nomination in May 2024.
“Her collaboration with local governments, work on veteran homelessness, and support for small businesses has earned her the respect of leaders across the state,” Sherrill said. “In the Sherrill-Caldwell administration, DCA will reform the burdensome permitting process to lower costs, address our housing shortage, and expand shared services to reduce New Jerseyans’ tax burden.”
Suárez has been director of the department’s Division of Local Government Services since 2021. She spent more than two years as an associate counsel to Murphy and worked as a legislative liaison at DCA for three years during Gov. Chris Christie’s second term. She also chairs the New Jersey Local Finance Board.
“I am excited to work with Governor-elect Sherrill on her mission to make New Jersey more affordable – finding creative solutions to lower housing and rental costs, and cutting red tape to make it easier to start and grow a small business. We will also continue important efforts like ending veteran homelessness through our Bringing Veterans Home initiative,” stated Suárez. “Our department will work efficiently and collaboratively with residents and municipalities, which is key to delivering lower costs for families across our state.”
Murphy had nominated Suárez to serve on the Rowan University-Rutgers Camden Board of Governors in November. Now that she’s remaining in the cabinet, she is expected to withdraw her nomination.
This story was updated to include comments from Sherrill and Suárez.
