Elease Evans (born June 6, 1943) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from November 2007 until January 2012, representing the 35th legislative district. Evans held a seat that was vacated by former Assemblyman

Alfred E. Steele Alfred E. Steele (born January 22, 1954) is an American Baptist clergyman and Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly starting in 1996, where he represented the 35th legislative district. He resigned on Septe ...

on September 10, 2007. She was first sworn into the Assembly on November 9, 2007. Evans served on the

Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

starting in 2002 and was selected by her fellow Freeholders to serve as Freeholder Director since 2004. On January 2, 2007, Evans was unanimously chosen to serve a fourth term as Freeholder Director. Evans has top job, again
''

Herald News The ''Herald News'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper headquartered in Woodland Park, New Jersey, that focuses on the Passaic County, New Jersey area. Today's ''Herald News'' is descended from several papers, but did not come to be until two ...

'', January 2, 2007 As Freeholder Director, Evans earned an $1,000 on top of her $28,500 annual freeholder salary, presided over public meetings and was responsible for appointing board members to committees. She simultaneously held a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly and as Freeholder. This dual position, often called

double dipping A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and ''cumul des mandats'' in France. Thus, if ...

, is allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

and signed into law by

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...

in September 2007 that prevents dual-office-holding but allows those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to retain both posts. She did not seek re-election to her Freeholder seat in 2007, though.

Biography

Evans served in the Assembly on the Labor Committee (as Vice-Chair), the Human Services Committee and the Law and Public Safety Committee.Assemblywoman Evans' legislative web page

. Accessed April 7, 2008. Evans is a graduate of Passaic County Vocational and Technical High School (now the

Passaic County Technical Institute Passaic County Technical Institute (also known as PCTI, Passaic County Tech, Wayne Tech or simply Tech), is a vocational public high school in Wayne, that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from all of Passaic County, in the U.S. ...

). She attended William Paterson College (now

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

) where she majored in

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and was inducted into the Sociology Honor Society. Evans also received her Certification in Life Skills / Career Counseling from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

.Freeholder Director Elease Evans
,

Passaic County, New Jersey Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,

. Accessed April 7, 2008. Evans spent 33 years at the Passaic County Board of Social Services before retiring in 2002, after her election to the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders. At the Passaic County Board of Social Services, Evans started as a clerk/typist position and was promoted to Senior Training Technician. While at the Board of Social Services, Evans served 24 years as the Vice President of the Professional Workers Association. Evans currently serves on the Boards of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

of Clifton &

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

, as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Greater Paterson OIC, and as a member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Crime and Drugs. She has been an active member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Paterson since 1979, and has served her church in many capacities including Sunday school teacher, usher, and member of both their Civil Rights Commission and Board of Christian Education. Evans and her husband Billie are longtime residents of Paterson’s Eastside. Evans is a mother of two sons, Don and Patrick, and daughter, Karen, and is also a grandmother of nine. Evans did not run for re-election to the Assembly in 2011, thereby ending her service to the legislature effective January 9, 2012.NorthJersey.com, Published 23 March 2011, Accessed 15 January 2012.
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References

External links

Assemblywoman Evans' legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
20072006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Elease 1943 births Living people County commissioners in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Passaic County Technical Institute alumni Politicians from Paterson, New Jersey William Paterson University alumni African-American state legislators in New Jersey Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature