Oadline Truitt

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Oadline Truitt (born August 2, 1940) is an American Democrat who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2006 to 2008, representing the 28th district. A librarian in Irvington and a longtime Newark resident, she was elected by the Essex County Democratic Committee on February 2, 2006, to fill the vacancy left by Evelyn Williams. Truitt was sworn in on February 9, 2006 and served on the Education Committee.

Her appointment came after Williams resigned following legal trouble. Williams had filled the seat after the death of former Assemblyman Donald Tucker, and her term ran from January 10, 2006, through January 2008. Truitt ran in the November 2006 election to continue serving for the remainder of the term and won the Democratic primary against Alton Wheeler; there was no Republican candidate, so she was unopposed for the rest of the term.

Education and career: Truitt has a B.S. in Education/Library Media from Kean College and works as a school librarian for Irvington Public Schools. She has served on the Newark Rent Control Board since 1997.

Election history and controversy: Truitt was initially elected at a special election convention on January 9, 2006, but that meeting faced disputes over short notice and quorum. The state party did not certify that election, so a second convention was held, which she won by defeating Cleopatra Tucker. In that race, Tucker and Ralph Caputo challenged Truitt and Craig Stanley; Caputo’s ticket was supported by Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Truitt finished fourth in that four-candidate race.

In the 28th district, each district has one state senator and two assembly members. The other representatives from the 28th district are not listed here.