Murphy taps N.J. assemblywoman to serve as state treasurer

New Jersey Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has selected a member of the Assembly to be the next state treasurer.

Assemblywoman Elizabeth Muoio, D-Mercer, is the right person to help him with his first order of business when he takes office in January, Murphy said Wednesday. And that’s preparing a balanced budget and growing the economy with policies that support the middle class.

Murphy said he wants New Jersey to return to being the state it was years ago.

“I don’t know that we’ll ever have within us the low-cost place to live or do business,” he said. “But I do believe we have within us, and I think Liz shares this with great passion, that we can once again be the good value for the money state.”

Muoio said her experience serving on the Assembly Budget Committee will be an asset in her new job.

“It would be tough for anybody, this position, let’s be honest,” she said. “But I feel that I’ve gotten a grasp of what we have, what the challenges are — and I’ve also gotten to know a lot of great people who I hope to work with to come up with solutions for those challenges.”

Muoio would be the first woman confirmed as New Jersey’s treasurer in 32 years.

Murphy said she’d help provide the diversity he promised to make in selecting members of his cabinet.