The Bergen County Board of Commissioners (formerly the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders) is a Board of seven people who govern Bergen County, New Jersey alongside the Bergen County Executive. The members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis with either two or three seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting in the beginning of January, the board elects a Chair, Vice Chair and Chair Pro Tempore from among its members. As of January 2024, Bergen County's Commissioners are Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson) term ends December 31, 2025), Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah) term ends December 31, 2025), Chair Pro Tempore Dr. Joan M. Voss (D, Fort Lee, December 31, 2026), Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, term ends December 31, 2026), Thomas Sullivan (D, Montvale, term ends December 31, 2025), Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, term ends December 31, 2024) and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, term ends December 31, 2024).
Bergen County Board of Commissioners | |
|---|---|
| Leadership | |
Chair | Germaine M. Ortiz (D) |
Vice Chair | Mary J. Amoroso (D) |
Chair Pro Tempore | Joan Voss (D) |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 7 |
 | |
Political groups | Democratic Party (7) |
Length of term | 3 years |
| Website | |
| Bergen County Commissioners | |
Responsibilities
editThe Board is responsible for creating the laws for Bergen County. Most importantly the Board is responsible for creating and adopting a yearly budget for the county.[1]
Party affiliation
edit| Affiliation | Members | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 7 | |
| Republican Party | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | |
Sessions
edit2024
editIn 2024, the Board chose Commissioner Germaine M. Ortiz to serve as Chair of the Board, Mary J. Amoroso as Vice Chair, and Dr. Joan M. Voss as Chair Pro Tempore.
2023
editIn 2023, the Board chose Commissioner Thomas J. Sullivan to serve as Chair of the Board, Germaine M. Ortiz as Vice Chair, and Dr. Joan M. Voss as Chair Pro Tempore.
2022
editIn 2022, the Board chose Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur to serve as Chair of the Board, Thomas J. Sullivan as Vice Chair, and Dr. Joan M. Voss as Chair Pro Tempore.
2021
editIn 2021, the Board chose Commissioner Steven A. Tanelli to serve as Chair of the Board, Tracy Silna Zur as Vice Chair, and Dr. Joan M. Voss as Chair Pro Tempore.
2020
editIn 2020, the Board chose Commissioner Mary J. Amoroso to serve as Chair of the Board, Dr. Joan M. Voss as Vice Chair, and Steven A. Tanelli as Chair Pro Tempore.
2019
editIn 2019, the Board chose Commissioner Germaine Ortiz to serve as Chair of the Board, making her the first Latina to do so.[2] This was also the first time that the Board had been entirely led by women: Mary Amoroso serving as Vice Chair and Joan Voss and Chair Pro-tempore.
Previous sessions
edit| Year | County Executive | Seat 1 | Seat 2 | Seat 3 | Seat 4 | Seat 5 | Seat 6 | Seat 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014[3] |
Kathleen Donovan (R) |
David L. Ganz (D) |
Joan Voss (D) |
John A. Felice (R) |
Maura DeNicola (R) |
Steve Tanelli (D) |
James Tedesco (D) |
Tracy Silna Zur (D) |
| 2015 |
James Tedesco (D) |
Thomas Sullivan (D) | ||||||
| 2016 | ||||||||
| 2017[4] |
Germaine Ortiz (D) |
Mary Amaroso (D) | ||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||
| 2021 |
Ramon Hache Sr. (D) | |||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||
| 2023 |
Rafael Marte (D) |
References
edit- ^ "Bergen County Board of Freeholders". co.bergen.nj.us. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ "Ortiz to lead Bergen Freeholders". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ "Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ "Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2019.