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SHERRILL RETAINS SUÁREZ
AS DCA COMMISSIONER
Jacquelyn Suárez, the head of the
state’s Department of Community
Affairs, will stay on in the role with
Mikie Sherrill taking offi ce as the
state’s governor.
fi nancial assistance in areas such
as joint services, purchasing and
management issues.
In a news release, Sherrill said
Suárez has earned “the respect and
support of community leaders, local
offi cials and colleagues in Trenton”
during her more than two years as
DCA commissioner and more than
a decade in public service. That’s
slated to continue as a member
of the new administration, where
she’ll look to reform the permitting
process, target
the agency’s
resources to
create housing
that people
can afford,
revitalize vacant
commercial
properties
Jacquelyn Suárez
for small
businesses and mixed uses and
provide guidance to municipal
offi cials on best management
practices, particularly those that can
reduce their residents’ taxes.
She’s also a former associate
counsel in the Governor’s Offi ce
and legislative liaison in DCA, the
agency she would go on to lead as its
fi rst Hispanic commissioner. Since
taking the helm of the department,
Suárez has overseen more than 1,000
employees and managed a $2.15
billion operational budget.
Additionally, she has led the
agency in its rollout of the state’s
“I am honored to have Jacquelyn
Suárez serve as the commissioner
of the Department of Community
Affairs,” said Sherrill, who succeeds
the term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy.
“Her collaboration with local
governments, work on veteran
homelessness and support for
small businesses has earned her the
respect of leaders across the state.
“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. I’m excited
to have an experienced leader like
Commissioner Suárez to guide
those efforts and help build a more
affordable Garden State.”
Suárez took over the role in
September 2023 after the death of Lt.
Gov. Sheila Oliver, who had led the
agency since taking offi ce in 2018.
The longtime member of the Murphy
administration spent 2021 to 2024
as director of the DCA’s Division
of Local Government Services and
chair of the state’s Local Finance
Board, where she advocated for
local government interests and
provided them with technical and
new affordable housing program,
implementing a March 2024 law
meant to streamline the complex,
often controversial process
for determining municipalities’
obligations under the Fair Housing
Act.
“I am honored to have the
opportunity to continue to serve as
the commissioner of the Department
of Community Affairs,” Suárez said.
“I am excited to work with Governor-
elect Sherrill on her mission to
make New Jersey more affordable
— fi nding 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. Our department will work
effi ciently and collaboratively with
residents and municipalities, which
is key to delivering lower costs for
families across our state.”
The New Jersey native earned her
juris doctor from Rutgers School of
Law in Camden and her bachelor’s in
communications, legal institutions,
economics and government from
American University in Washington,
D.C. She is a member of both the
New Jersey and New York bar
associations and of the Hispanic Bar
Association of New Jersey.
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