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.
