County Executive of Mercer County
Incumbent
Daniel J. Benson
since 2024
Term lengthFour years; renewable
Inaugural holderArthur Sypek Sr.
Formation1976
WebsiteCounty 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, which acts in a legislative role. The New Jersey Superior Court had subsumed and replaced county courts in 1983. The office of the County Executive is in the county seat and state capital, Trenton.

The 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 county's population was 365,513.[1] As of Election Day 2017 there were 233,860 registered voters in Mercer.[2]

There have been four county executives since the establishment of the office in 1975. The incumbent, Brian M. Hughes, took office in 2004 and has been re-elected to four subsequent terms; the last election took place in November 2019.

History

In 1972, the State of New Jersey passed the Optional County Charter Law, which provides for four different manners in which a county could be governed: by an executive, an administrator, a board president or a county supervisor.[3] Mercer County voters in a 1974 referendum voted to establish the executive office.[4]

A court case between Mercer County's Executive and the Board of Chosen Freeholders in which the New Jersey Superior Court Law Division clarified interpretation as to the rights and responsibilities of the two branches of government was decided in 2001.[5]

Mercer is one of the five of 21 counties of New Jersey with a popularly-elected county executive, the others being Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, and Hudson.[6]

There have been four county executives since the establishment of the office.

Elections

Year Democrat Votes % Republican Votes %
1975[7] Arthur Sypek Sr. 46,280 53.92% S. Harry Sayen 39,558 46.08%
1979 Arthur Sypek Sr. Bill Mathesius
1983 Joe Tighue Bill Mathesius
1987[8] Joe Bocchini 39,940 49.55% Bill Mathesius 40,664 50.45%
1991 Joe Bocchini Bob Prunetti
1995 Jim McManimon Bob Prunetti
1999 Jim McManimon 35,877 47.74% Bob Prunetti 39,271 52.26%
2003 Brian M. Hughes 34,956 49.02% Cathy DiCostanzo 33,283 46.67%
2007 Brian M. Hughes 43,453 63.03% Janice Mitchell Mintz 25,493 36.98%
2011 Brian M. Hughes 42,086 65.01% Jonathan Savage 22,661 34.99%
2015 Brian M. Hughes 33,793 67.14% Lisa Richford 16,500 32.78%
2019 Brian M. Hughes 46,439 69.59% Lishian Wu 20,245 30.34%

County executives

Name Party Years of service
Arthur Sypek Sr. Democratic 1976–1980
Bill Mathesius Republican 1980–1992
Robert Prunetti Republican 1992–2004
Brian M. Hughes Democratic 2004–2024

Arthur Sypek Sr.

Democrat Arthur Sypek Sr. (1917–2002) was the inaugural officeholder of the county executive. A resident of Lawrence Township, he had served in the U.S. Army during World War II, a real estate and insurance agent, member of the Lawrence Township Planning Board, and a Mercer County Freeholder for 16 years.[9]

In the 1975, Sypek defeated then-Trenton mayor Art Holland in the Democratic primary and S. Harry Sayen, the Mercer County Republican chairman, in the general election.[4] Sypek was defeated for re-election by Bill Mathesius in 1979 and died on April 23, 2002.[9]

Bill Mathesius

Republican Wilbur H. "Bill" Mathesius, from Hopewell Township, served three terms from 1980 to 1991.[10] He was referred as "Wild Bill" during a political career that included stints as Assistant United States Attorney and county prosecutor. [10][11]

Mathesius was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court in 2002[12][13] and was briefly suspended in 2006 for comments regarding the death penalty.[14][15][16] In 2008, Governor Jon Corzine declined to reappoint him.[17] He last presided over a murder trial in which there were irregularities.[18]

Bob Prunetti

Republican Robert "Bob" Prunetti, served as executive from 1992 to 2004.

During his tenure Prunetti sued the Board of Chosen Freeholders in a case which led to a court interpretation as to the rights and responsibilities of the two branches of government.[5]

As county chief, he collaborated with City of Trenton to develop what became known as the Sun National Bank Center.[19]

Prunetti was appointed by then-Governor Chris Christie to the Trenton's Capital City Redevelopment Corporation[20] He later become Chief of the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce.[19]

Brian M. Hughes

Brian M. Hughes was first elected in November 2003. He was re-elected in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019.[21][22]

Hughes is a graduate of Thomas Edison State College and a resident of Princeton. He is a member of the notable Hughes-Murphy political family. His father was two-term New Jersey Governor and New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard J. Hughes.[23] His brother, John Hughes, is a serving federal magistrate. His half-brother, Michael Murphy, is an influential lobbyist, former county prosecutor and a 1997 candidate for governor. His sister-in-law is a Superior Court judge.

Hughes previously served as Deputy Executive Director of the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. In 1992 he made an unsuccessful bid to represent New Jersey's 4th congressional district in Congress.[24] In 1997, was elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders and served two terms, including one as Freeholder President.[25]

In 2014, he was elected the first Vice President of the County Executives of America (CEA).[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ DP1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Hudson County, New Jersey Archived 2020-02-12 at archive.today, United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 21, 2013.
  2. ^ "Statewide Voter Registration Summary" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. November 7, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Miller, William (1974), Model County Administrative Codes Under the Optional County Charter Law of New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, retrieved March 21, 2018
  4. ^ a b Sullivan, Ronald (June 3, 1975). "Woodson's Fight for Renomination Highlights Primary Election Today". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2020. The only other major contest in the state involves the Democratic nomination of a Mercer County Executive, a new office created by the voters in last year's referendum. The county race involves Arthur Sypek, the director of the County Board of chosen Freeholders and Mayor Arthur Holland a Trenton.
  5. ^ a b Robert D. PRUNETTI, County Executive of Mercer County, Plaintiff, v. MERCER COUNTY BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS, Defendant (Superior Court of New Jersey,Law Division November 13, 2001) ("In 1972, the Legislature adopted the Optional County Charter Law, providing a county the opportunity to reorganize its form of government into one of four alternative forms: (i) the County Executive Plan; (ii) the County Manager Plan; (iii) the Board President Plan; or (iv) the County Supervisor Plan. See N.J.S.A. 40:41A-1 et seq. Six counties have elected to reorganize their governmental structure pursuant to the Optional Charter Act. They are respectively: Atlantic, Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Mercer and Union Counties. Five of these counties...have opted for the County Executive Plan."), Text.
  6. ^ Rinde, Meir. "Explainer: What’s a Freeholder? NJ’s Unusual County Government System", NJ Spotlight, October 27, 2015. Accessed March 21, 2018. "Five counties -- Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Mercer -- opted for popularly elected county executives in addition to freeholder boards."
  7. ^ "Mercer picks Dem leader". The Courier-News. 5 Nov 1975. p. 26. Retrieved 7 Dec 2022.
  8. ^ "County chiefs retain positions in Atlantic, Mercer". Camden Courier-Post. 4 Nov 1987. p. 15. Retrieved 7 Dec 2022.
  9. ^ a b Staff (April 29, 2002). "Arthur Sypek - Central Jersey Archives". Newspaper Media Group. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Thoughts on Mercer's political parties - Stoolmacher". 4 January 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Judge Mathesius denied reassignment". 18 November 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  12. ^ "DiFrancesco's lame duck nominations". The New York Observer. 18 December 2009.
  13. ^ Order Supplemeneting 2001-2002 General Assignment Order, New Jersey Judiciary, January 8, 2002. Accessed March 14, 2022. "It is ORDERED that effective upon the taking of oath, and until further Order, Superior Court Judge Wilbur H. Mathesius is hereby assigned to the Superior Court, Criminal Division, Mercer County (Vicinage 7)."
  14. ^ IN RE: Wilbur H. MATHESIUS, a Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey. (Supreme Court of New Jersey November 30, 2006), Text.
  15. ^ "Voluble Mercer Co. Judge Mathesius Won't Be Renominated, Governor Says - New Jersey Law Journal". Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Judge's Words Cost Him a Suspension of 30 Days". The New York Times. December 1, 2006. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  17. ^ "Judge Mathesius: 'Politics will have its way'". The Trentonan. 5 October 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  18. ^ Glatt, John (2007), Never Leave Me: A True Story of Marriage, Deception, and Brutal Murder, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 9781429904704
  19. ^ a b "Bob Prunetti suddenly loses job as MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce chief". 5 October 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Prunetti appointed to Trenton's Capital City Redevelopment Corporation". 20 June 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Mercer County election results 2015". 4 November 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  22. ^ "N.J. Election results 2019: Mercer County". 6 November 2019.
  23. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. (8 December 1992). "Richard J. Hughes, Governor and Judge, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Former governor's son, longtime state lawmaker both considering bids to replace Holt in Congress". 18 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Meet the County Executive | Mercer County, NJ".
  26. ^ "Mercer County Executive Hughes voted in as VP of nation organization". 21 July 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
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