And, amid more intrigue, Senate Democrats replaced one outspoken Christie critic with another as majority leader, with Barbara Buono, of Middlesex County, making way for Loretta Weinberg, of Bergen County, now chairwoman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.
Many legislative Democrats were disgruntled after Oliver, of Essex County, and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, of Gloucester County, relied on minority GOP support to push through an overhaul of public-worker benefits in June against the wishes of two-thirds of the Democratic legislators.
In the end, in caucuses Thursday, Democrats unanimously backed Oliver and Sweeney for new two-year terms.
The drama in the Senate caucus revolved around Buono, seen as a potential intra-party rival to Sweeney in a future gubernatorial run against Christie.
Buono sent out a letter just before the meeting saying she would not seek reelection because she had learned she would have to share the position with Weinberg, otherwise an ally.
Buono, the first woman to hold the majority leader position, has clashed with Sweeney on a range of issues. She opposed the health and pension legislation, and raised questions about his support for Christie-backed bills easing environmental regulations to make the state more business-friendly.
"The most important thing to me is that the people I represent know that I will stand up for what I believe in . . . even if it means standing up to my own party, and this is a position that does not allow for that," Buono said in an interview.
Lisa Mizrahi-Kaado, president of the Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey, said her organization supported Buono and Weinberg and she objected that they are being pitted against each other.
