New Jersey's governor-elect picks state treasurer

Bloomberg News

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will nominate an experienced hand at state finances to lead the Department of the Treasury.

Sherrill announced Monday she plans to appoint Aaron Binder, currently the state's deputy treasurer, to the department's top job.

Binder has experience as budget director for the state Assembly Budget Committee and deputy executive director for the Assembly Majority Office. As treasurer, he will oversee New Jersey's multi-billion-dollar budget, taxation, pensions, debt management, and investments, and manage a department of over 3,000 employees. "New Jersey needs an experienced leader in the Treasury Department as we face extraordinary challenges from the Trump administration," Sherrill said in a statement.

Sherrill, a Democrat, will be sworn in as governor Jan. 20 after winning election in November. She succeeds Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, who could not run for a third term because of term limits.

"During my time as deputy treasurer, I am proud to have worked on critical efforts to lower costs for New Jerseyans, like funding the pension system and implementing property relief tax programs to lower the cost of renting or owning a home," Binder said in a statement.

He will succeed Elizabeth Muoio, who served as treasurer throughout the Murphy administration. 

The position is subject to state Senate confirmation.

Binder joined the state treasury in 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile, and before that spent 16 years with the New Jersey Assembly Majority Office, including six years as the deputy executive director, according to the news release.

There, he was an aide to the Assembly Budget Committee, playing a key role in state budget negotiations, and handled key policy issues, including public employee pension and benefits, banking and insurance, transportation, and health care, Sherrill's news release said.