Women in County and Municipal Government: NJ Must Do Better

The latest census of women elected to county and municipal offices in New Jersey raises an urgent question: Why is progress painfully slow -- or non-existent?

The new data, including women in office as of January 2018, come from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The numbers have edged upward since 2017, but women – who constitute more than half the state’s population – still hold only 29 percent of freeholder positions (compared with 26 percent in 2017), 25 percent of council seats (compared with 24 percent), and a paltry 14 percent of mayoralties (compared with 15 percent). (Detailed tables are attached.)

“Across the nation and throughout New Jersey, the flood of women stepping up to run has been front-page news,” observed CAWP director Debbie Walsh. “CAWP has trained record numbers of women to run, and they’re eager to serve now,” added Walsh. “But until the powerful  county party chairs on both sides of the aisle make it a priority to include more women on their tickets, our best efforts won’t alter the picture significantly.”

Walsh noted that in most of New Jersey, unlike other states, county party chairs (still overwhelmingly male) control the ballot placement of primary candidates, determining which candidates get the “line” or favored positions. Those who run “off the line” have difficulty reaching the general election.

Union and Mercer Counties show the most success electing women, ranking first and second among the counties overall. Mercer has the highest proportion of women on councils (37 percent) and Union has the highest proportion of women mayors (29 percent). Bergen County, which shares the overall fourth place rank with Hunterdon and Burlington Counties, shares the top ranking for women freeholders with Morris County, 57 percent. Camden County ranks third overall among the 21 counties.

Warren County ranked at the bottom of the list. It is the only county with no women on its board of freeholders.

The Garden State has done better electing women to its legislature, Walsh reported. Women constitute 29.2 percent of the state’s senators and assembly members, besting the national average of 25.3 percent and placing New Jersey 16^th among the 50 states. “We’ve improved our standing among state legislatures dramatically since 2004, when we were in the bottom ten. Today, we have a strong and diverse group of women in Trenton. We should be making similar progress in county and municipal government.”

CAWP’s non-partisan campaign training, Ready to Run®, teaches New Jersey women the nuts and bolts of running for office in the state and connects potential candidates with experts and resources. “Women have long been active agents of change and progress in their communities; now many are ready to take on new leadership roles as elected officials,” commented CAWP’s associate director, Jean Sinzdak. “Our training gives them essential tools for political success.”

The next Ready to Run® is scheduled for March 9-10 at the Douglass Student Center on the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus. Registration information is available at cawp.rutgers.edu/education_training/ready_to_run/newjersey