Atlantic City has been waiting on how much longer the state’s oversight will last.

The Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act has been in effect since 2016, giving the state powers through the Department of Community Affairs. As that 10-year agreement comes to an end, legislators have been working on the terms of an extension.

But while questions remain, the city now knows it will have some consistency in its relationship with the state: the DCA commissioner.

Gov-elect Mikie Sherrill announced this week that she will retain Jacquelyn Suarez in the position she took over from her mentor, the late Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver.

Before her appointment to commissioner, Suarez served as director of the Division of Local Government Services beginning in 2021. That position included a relationship with Atlantic City, where she appointed James Sarkos as interim police chief in 2022, after two years without anyone officially in the position.

She also has been a proponent of Public Safety Director Sean Riggin, who was assigned to the position in February.

Atlantic City’s relationship with the state has been contentious at times, but seemed to be healed as Mayor Marty Small and Oliver publicly praised one another and their collaborative work.

The city even named the newly renovated City Hall courtyard in honor of the late leader. 

Suarez spoke highly of Oliver at the groundbreaking, saying Oliver was a mentor “whose shoes I’m desperately trying to fill.”

“If someone comes to you and asks for help and you can help them, you’re supposed to help them,” Suarez said of Oliver’s best advice. “Why wouldn’t you? You have been put in the position somehow to be able to help this person.”

Suarez has served the state for more than a decade as a lawyer, legislative liaison, division director and commissioner.

As a key Cabinet member in the Sherrill-Caldwell administration, her attention will be focused on investing in activities that both sustain and cultivate community development, according to a news release. Under her leadership, the DCA will reform the permitting process, target the resources of the department to create housing that people can afford, revitalize vacant commercial properties for small businesses and mixed uses, and provide guidance to municipal officials on best management practices, particularly those that can reduce their residents’ taxes. 

“I am honored to have Jacquelyn Suárez serve as the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs,” Sherrill said in a release. “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.”

Suarez said she was honored and “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,” she added. “Our department will work efficiently and collaboratively with residents and municipalities, which is key to delivering lower costs for families across our state.”

Suarez has overseen more than 1,000 employees and managed a $2.15 billion operational budget in her two-year tenure. 

She is the first Hispanic DCA commissioner. 

Suárez is a New Jersey native who earned her juris doctor from Rutgers School of Law in Camden and her bachelor’s degree 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. She is also a member of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey.