Fiscal Conservative
I am determined to reduce spending levels and I support the 2% property tax cap. For too long, government spending has been unchecked and not rigorously questioned.
Read MoreAn Inclusive Representative
Union County has over 500,000 citizens and most are unaware of the Freeholder Board’s activities. Few are aware about the very large county budget and how Freeholders spend our tax dollars.
Read MoreSuspend Open Space Tax
In these difficult times, we should suspend this tax. This is not a time for taxpayers to be funding anything but essentials. Let’s regroup and hear a plan for how remaining monies will be spent.
Read MoreWhat is a Freeholder?
The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is a nine member board that governs Union County, NJ. It’s like the New Jersey version of County Commissioners. Each member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders serves a three year term. Each year, three of the nine seats are up for election. The Freeholder seats are elected at-large, meaning the whole county votes to elect each member. There is no ward or district system. The Freeholders select a Board Chairman every year in January after new members are sworn in. The Freeholders are charged with approving the county government budget and overseeing the county bureaucracy.
History
Elected county officials in New Jersey are called “freeholders.” The term is rooted in the colonial period when only men with land, then called a freehold, were permitted to vote or serve in elected office. Colonists would elect two “freeholders” from each municipality to serve on the county governing body. The number of chosen freeholders in each county was eventually reduced and is now determined by countywide referendum. By statute the number of freeholders in any county cannot exceed nine. New Jersey remains the only state to call its elected county officials freeholders. In most other states they are known as county commissioners or county council members.
