The County Executive of

Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...

, United States is the chief officer of the county's

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. The executive oversees the administration of county government and works in conjunction with Board of County Commissioners, which acts in a legislative role. The

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had subsumed and replaced county courts in 1983. The office of the County Executive is in the

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and

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, Trenton. As of the 2020 United States censusthe Mercer was the state's 12th-most-populous county, with a population of 387,340. The County Executive is elected directly by the voters to a term of four years with no term limits. The incumbent, Daniel R. Benson was sworn into office January 2, 2024 after being elected in November 2023.

History

In 1972, the State of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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 ...

, a board president or a county supervisor. Mercer County voters in a 1974 referendum voted to establish the executive office. A court case between Mercer County's Executive and the Board of Chosen Freeholders in which the

Law Division clarified interpretation as to the rights and responsibilities of the two branches of government was decided in 2001. Mercer is one of the five of 21 counties of

with a popularly-elected county executive, the others being

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

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, and

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.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."

Elections

County executives

Arthur Sypek Sr. (1976-1980)

Democrat Arthur Sypek Sr. (1917–2002) was the inaugural officeholder of the county executive. A resident of Lawrence Township, he had served in the

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during

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, a real estate and insurance agent, member of the Lawrence Township Planning Board, and a Mercer County Freeholder for 16 years. 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. Sypek was defeated for re-election by Bill Mathesius in 1979 and died on April 23, 2002.

Bill Mathesius (1980-1992)

Republican Wilbur H. "Bill" Mathesius, from Hopewell Township, served three terms from 1980 to 1991. He was referred as "Wild Bill" during a political career that included stints as Assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

and county prosecutor. Mathesius was appointed to the

in 2002 and was briefly suspended in 2006 for comments regarding the death penalty. In 2008, Governor

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 ...

declined to reappoint him. He last presided over a murder trial in which there were irregularities.

Bob Prunetti (1992-2004)

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. As county chief, he collaborated with City of Trenton to develop what became known as the Sun National Bank Center. Prunetti was appointed by then-

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Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

to the Trenton's Capital City Redevelopment Corporation He later become Chief of the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce.

Brian M. Hughes (2004-2024)

Democrat Brian M. Hughes was first elected in November 2003. He was re-elected in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. Hughes is a graduate of Thomas Edison State College and a resident of

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

. He is a member of the notable Hughes-Murphy political family. His father was two-term

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and

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

Chief Justice Richard J. Hughes. 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. In 1997, was elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders and served two terms, including one as Freeholder President. In 2014, he was elected the first Vice President of the County Executives of America (CEA).

Daniel R. Benson (2024-present)

Democrat Daniel R. Benson is life-long resident of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. He was elected in November 2023, after Hughes dropped his re-election bid earlier that year after Benson defeated him at the Mercer County Democratic Convention.

References

{{Mercer County, New Jersey Government County government in New Jersey