Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in t ...
, United States is the chief officer of the county's
executive branch
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state.
In poli ...
who oversees the administration of county government and works in collaboration with the nine-member
Board of County Commissioners
A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
,
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.county executive is elected directly by the voters to a term of four years, which begins on January 1. At the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
. Accessed January 21, 2013. As of Election Day 2017 there were 348,366 registered voters in Hudson.
There have been three elected and one appointed county executives since the establishment of the office in 1977, which replaced the county supervisor. The incumbent, Thomas A. DeGise, took office in 2002 and has been re-elected for five consecutive terms; he was again re-elected in 2019. He intends to retire at the end of his term in 2023. His chief of staff, Guy Graig, announced his candidacy for the position in September 2022.
History
Prior the creation of the office of executive, the Board of Chosen Freeholders chose a Director from among themselves.
In 1972, the State of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
passed the Optional County Charter Law, which provides for four different manners in which a county could be governed: by an executive, an
administrator
Administrator or admin may refer to:
Job roles Computing and internet
* Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database
* Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum
* N ...
county supervisor
A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...
.
Hudson is one of five
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
counties with a popularly-elected county executive, the others being
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
,
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, and
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
.Rinde, Meir "Explainer: What’s a Freeholder? NJ’s Unusual County Government System" NJ Spotlight, October 27, 2015. Accessed October 26, 2017. "Five counties -- Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Mercer -- opted for popularly elected county executives in addition to freeholder boards."
There have been three elected and one appointed county executives since the establishment of the office in 1977, which replaced the county supervisor.
County executives
1975–1987
Edward F. Clark Jr. (born
Bayonne
Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
- d. December 3, 2011 Monmouth Beach) was elected after the form of county government was changed, becoming the county's first county executive in 1977.
Clark is the son Edward F. Clark Sr., who was once Mayor of Bayonne. He was graduate of
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
, Clark served in the Navy during World War II.
Clark served as Hudson County Freeholder from 1962 to 1970. He was director of the board from 1970 to 1972 and county supervisor from 1972 to 1975. After 12 years in the post, he was defeated in a Democratic primary for the office in 1987.
Hudson County Community College
Hudson County Community College (HCCC) is a public community college in Hudson County, New Jersey.
Locations
The school's main campus is located in Jersey City, with several institutions tapered throughout Journal Square and nearby Bergen Squar ...
.
In 1977, Janiszewski was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, serving from 1978 to 1984. He also served as a commissioner of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
and chairman of the
North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) is the federally authorized metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the 13-county northern New Jersey region, one of three MPOs in the state. NJTPA's annual budget is more than $2&nb ...
. He entered the race for the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1997 but withdrew before the election.
On September 6, 2001, Janiszewski resigned from his position as county executive due to corruption charges. He would later be sentenced to 41 months in prison for tax evasion and accepting more than $100,000 in bribes.
2001–2002 (interim)
Bernard M. Hartnett Jr., is a lawyer and former executive at
New Jersey Bell
Verizon New Jersey, Inc., formerly New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, is the Bell Operating Company serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 1984, the Bell System Divestiture split New Jersey Bell off into a Regional Bell Operating Company, along w ...
. He was the former Hudson County Democratic chairman when appointed by county Democratic leaders as interim county executive on October 14, 2001, after the resignation of Janiszewski.
Hartnett was a pro-reform candidate. He had been considered for as an interim Mayor of Jersey City after the seat became vacant February 7, 1992, when
Gerald McCann
Gerald McCann (born March 20, 1950) is an American Democratic Party politician who served two non-consecutive terms as mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey before being convicted of fraud in a savings-and-loan scam. When he was elected in 1981 he wa ...
was removed from office after his conviction on fraud charges.
2002–present
Thomas DeGise
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
was born, raised, and lives in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Saint Peter's College in 1973. He worked as teacher and administrator in the Jersey City Public Schools from 1975, and served as a job placement counselor at
Henry Snyder High School
Academy of the Arts at Henry Snyder High School is a four-year performing arts public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, operating as part o ...
before retiring.
DeGise entered public life as a community leader during the 1980s, founding the New #28 School Neighborhood Association and eventually chairing the Heights Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (HCNA) in the Heights section of Jersey City.
DeGise was Jersey City's longest serving Municipal Council President, holding that office from 1993 to 2001. In 2001, DeGise ran for Mayor of Jersey City in an election won by Glenn Cunningham.
Following the resignation of Janiszewski in September 2001, DeGise took office as county executive after winning a special election in November 2002 with 77 percent of the vote. On his first day in office, he submitted legislation to the Board of Chosen Freeholders to create the first ever Ethics Oversight Board for the Hudson County government. He was re-elected in 2003, 2007 and 2011 2015. DeGise served as the Chairman of the
North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) is the federally authorized metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the 13-county northern New Jersey region, one of three MPOs in the state. NJTPA's annual budget is more than $2&nb ...
for a two-year term that ended in January 2016.
He sought re-election in 2019 and won with 83% of the vote. for a term which ends December 31, 2023. He intends to retire.
Mercer County Executive
The County Executive of Mercer County, New Jersey, United States is the chief officer of the county's executive branch. The executive oversees the administration of county government and works in conjunction with Board of County Commissioners, ...