Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday he will appoint Allison Chris Myers as acting chair of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, which Murphy’s office said makes her the first transgender member of a governor’s cabinet in state history.
Myers, a 21-year veteran of the commission, will replace outgoing chair Deirdré Webster Cobb on an interim basis once Cobb retires Jan. 1 after five years leading the agency that oversees a vast array of government workers in the Garden State.
A Cumberland County resident and Rutgers University graduate, Myers is an attorney and Navy veteran who has worked at the commission since 2001. She was named its deputy chair in June.
Murphy said he “couldn’t think of a better candidate” to succeed Cobb, an original member of his cabinet. He praised Myers as a “career public servant.”
“As I have said many times before, it is important that the leadership in this state reflect the communities we serve, and I am looking forward to working with Allison to determine how we can better serve our state workforce,” the Democratic governor added.
Myers said the aim of the commission is to “better serve the people of New Jersey through the selection and appointment of its public servants based on relative knowledge, skills, and abilities while ensuring equal employment opportunities at all levels of public service.”
“In cooperation with labor and management, the CSC will continue to work diligently to implement Governor Murphy’s agenda to provide the finest public services delivered by a top-notch and diverse public workforce,” Myers said.
Cobb, a 30-year state government veteran, has held the post since Murphy became governor in 2018.
The governor said he was “truly grateful” for what Cobb “has helped us accomplish.”
Cobb thanked him “for giving me the opportunity to help build a stronger New Jersey by ensuring that the people who serve our residents have the resources they need to effectively perform their jobs” and said she’s “confident that Allison will continue to build on the foundation I’ve successfully laid to ensure an effective and efficient civil service delivery system for years to come.”
Murphy did not say whether he planned to formally nominate Myers to become the full-time — rather than acting — commission chair. That would require confirmation from the state Senate.
When he took office, Murphy touted that his cabinet was the first in New Jersey history to have a majority of women members.
In 2015, Rachel Levine became the first transgender member of a governor’s cabinet in the U.S. when she was appointed Pennsylvania’s physician general. She later became the state’s secretary of health.
Levine is now assistant federal secretary of health under President Joe Biden.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.
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