Tennyson Donyéa | January 10, 2022 | WHYY |
When the 219th state Legislature is sworn in at noon on Tuesday, New Jersey will have the most diverse Senate majority leadership team in its history.
Democrats, who hold a majority in both houses, recently named Sen. Nicholas Scutari as Senate President; Sen. Teresa Ruiz as Senate majority leader; Sen. Sandra Cunningham as Senate President Pro Tempore; Sen. Paul Sarlo as deputy majority leader; Sen. Troy Singleton as deputy majority whip; and Sen. Nellie Pou will serve in the newly created position of Senate majority caucus chair.
The new leadership team consists of two white men, three women, two African Americans, and two Latinas, according to a spokesperson for Senate Democrats.
It comes after some social justice advocacy groups had called for outgoing Senate President Steve Sweeney’s replacement to be a person of color, pointing out that the three most powerful positions in state government have been held by white men: the governor, the senate president, and assembly speaker.
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