Murphy Nomaintes Bergen Assemblywoman As Banking Commissioner

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Governor-elect Phil Murphy announced Tuesday the nomination of a local assemblywoman to help him bring home "billions of taxpayer dollars" back to the Garden State.

Murphy nominated Marlene Caride (District 36) to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance.

Murphy said he will ask Caride to help him establish a public bank for New Jersey. The institution would bring tax money currently invested in foreign banks and companies that do not reinvest in New Jersey "so that we can invest in our communities, our small businesses and our college students, Murphy said in a statement.

Caride, 54, of Ridgefield would be the first Hispanic to hold the cabinet position if confirmed. She was elected to the State Assembly in 2012. The 36th Legislative District includes parts of Bergen and Passaic counties.

Murphy said Caride will be a "watchdog" for New Jerseyans.

"They need a commissioner who will ensure their health insurance policy is worth the paper it’s printed on, to ensure the banks where they save for their futures or where our small businesses go to grow our economy are stable and viable, and to have their backs when they make the most important and largest purchase in their lives – a home," Murphy said.

Caride is chair of the Assembly Education Committee, a member of the Appropriations, Financial Institutions and Insurance committees, and sits on the Intergovernmental Relations Commission.

Caride earned a bachelor's degree in Education from Fairleigh Dickinson University and was awarded a law degree from the California Western School of Law. She a partner in private practice with the firm of Gonzalez & Caride. She is municipal prosecutor in Ridgefield.

Bergen County Executive James Tedesco commended Caride's nomination.

"For the past six years, Marlene Caride has thoughtfully and effectively served the people of northern New Jersey in the General Assembly, and I’m confident she will bring that same approach to public service on behalf of all New Jersey residents in her new role," Tedesco said in a statement.

Murphy has already nominated two other North Jerseyans to cabinet positions.

Tahesha Way, a former administrative law judge from Wayne, was nominated as secretary of state Monday. Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal was nominated as state attorney general last week.

Related: Wayne Woman Nominated As Secretary Of State By Governor-Elect
Related: Bergen County Prosecutor Nominated For Attorney General

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Photo: Assemblywoman Marlene Caride, 54/Courtesy of New Jersey Legislature