1st Female African-American Mayor in Bergen County, NJ, Dies at Age 44

Lizette Parker, who was elected mayor of Teaneck, N.J., in 2014, making her the first African-American woman to become mayor in New Jersey's Bergen County, died Sunday at the age of 44, the New York Post reports. 

According to the report, Parker was hospitalized for respiratory issues and passed away at the Holy Name Medical Center. 

“Mayor Parker was a strong leader, public advocate and a consummate professional, who was greatly respected by her colleagues and the community,” Teaneck Township Manager William Broughton said in a statement, according to the Post.

Parker is survived by her husband, Tony, and their young daughter.

Read more at the New York Post.