Editing Salem County, New Jersey (section)

===County government===
[[File:Salem Courthouse Mkt St.JPG|thumb|The [[Old Salem County Courthouse]] in [[Salem, New Jersey|Salem]]]]
Salem County is governed by a five-member [[Board of chosen freeholders|Board of Commissioners]] who are elected [[at-large]] to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting held at the beginning of January, the board selects a director and a deputy director from among its members. The appointed position professional county administrator was abolished by a unanimous vote of the commissioners in January 2014.<ref>Young, Alex. [http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2014/01/salem_county_reorg.html "Salem County freeholders look to 2014 at annual reorganization meeting"], ''[[South Jersey Times]]'', January 9, 2014. Accessed October 22, 2017. "He replaces Evern Ford, who will leave county government after the board also voted to abolish his county administrator position with a unanimous vote."</ref> In 2016, commissioners were paid $25,410 and the director was paid an annual salary of $26,410.<ref>Gallo Jr., Bill. [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/how_much_your_county_freeholders_others_in_nj_earn.html "Which N.J. county freeholders are paid the most?"], [[NJ.com]], March 11, 2016. Accessed October 25, 2017. "Freeholder director: $26,410; Other freeholders: $25,410"</ref>

In the 2016 general election, Salem County voters approved a binding referendum to cut the number of Commissioner from seven to five as well as a non-binding referendum to cut Commissioner salaries by 20%; both initiatives, which had been placed on the ballot as the result of grassroots campaigns opposed to a proposed outsourcing deal, passed by a 3–1 margin.<ref>Gallo Jr., Bill. [http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2016/11/salem_county_voters_decide_whether_to_cut_freehold.html "Salem County votes to cut freeholder board from 7 to 5 members"], [[NJ.com]], November 9, 2016. Accessed October 29, 2017. "Salem County residents Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to cut the membership of the freeholder board from seven to five. The result means that at the next election, November 2017, a new five-seat board will be elected. The vote was 21,942 to 7,013 in favor of the referendum. Also on the ballot was a second question dealing with the freeholders, asking whether their salaries should be cut by 20 percent. That question was approved by a vote of 22,272 to 6,543."</ref> In the wake of the referendum results, Director Julie Acton resigned in December 2016 and was replaced by Scott Griscom.<ref>Gallo Jr., Bill. [http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2017/01/griscom_fills_vacancy_on_salem_county_freeholder_b.html "Salem County freeholder board swears in new member"], [[NJ.com]], January 19, 2017. Accessed October 29, 2017. "Republican Scott Griscom, 69, was sworn in Wednesday night to fill the seat on the board left vacant by the abrupt resignation of Julie Acton in December."</ref> In April 2017, the [[New Jersey Supreme Court]] ruled that the reduction in seats will be accomplished through attrition, with the seats expiring at the end of 2017 (held by Commissioners Cross, Painter, and Vanderslice) being eliminated; in the November 2017 general election there will be one new three-year seat up for a vote as well as a two-year unexpired term, so that on January 1, 2018, there will be a five-member board. Republicans have fully controlled the board since 2022.<ref>Gallo Jr., Bill. [http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2017/04/high_court_rejects_appeal_on_how_to_handle_salem_f.html "High court rejects appeal on how to handle Salem freeholder election "], ''[[NJ.com]]'', April 3, 2017. Accessed October 29, 2017. "Salem County Clerk Gilda T. Gill's original plan had been to elect all five new members to the board, but Democrat Party Chairman Steven Caltabiano disagreed and filed suit in Superior Court. A judge there agreed with Gill's formula, but Caltabiano pursued the matter and a state Appellate Court agreed with Caltabiano that only one freeholder should be elected to a new full term. The court also agreed with Caltabiano's contention that the board should be allowed to shrink through attrition and those whose terms are up at the end of the year be allowed to stay on until then."</ref>

{{As of|2025}}, Salem County's Commissioners (with terms for director and deputy director ending every December 31) are:<ref>[https://www.salemcountynj.gov/county-commissioners/ County Commissioners], Salem County, New Jersey. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.salemcountynj.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-Adopted-Budget-min.pdf#page=11 2021 County Data Sheet], Salem County, New Jersey. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref><ref name=Salem2021>[https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/OFFICIAL-General-Election-Results-Salem-County-2021-min.pdf Election Summary Report General Election Salem County November 2, 2021 Official Results Report], Salem County, New Jersey, updated November 15, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref><ref name=Salem2020>[https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ElectionSummaryReportRPT-short-version-revised-min.pdf Election Summary Report Salem County NJ General Election November 3, 2020 Official Report], Salem County, New Jersey, updated November 25, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.</ref><ref name=Salem2019>[https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Official-Result-Summary-Report-min.pdf November 5, 2019 Summary Report Salem County, NJ Official Results], Salem County, New Jersey Clerk, updated November 18, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Commissioner 
! Party, Residence, Term 
|-
| Director Ben H. Laury 
| [[Republican Party (United States)|R]], [[Elmer, New Jersey|Elmer]], 2027<ref name="salemcountynj.gov">[https://www.salemcountynj.gov/county-commissioners/], Salem County, New Jersey, Accessed January 1, 2021.</ref>
|-
| Deputy Director Mickey Ostrum Jr.
| R, [[Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey|Pilesgrove Township]], 2027<ref name="salemcountynj.gov"/>
|- 
| Ed Ramsay 
| R, [[Pittsgrove Township, New Jersey|Pittsgrove Township]], 2026<ref name="salemcountynj.gov"/>
|-
| Cordy Taylor 
| R, [[Oldmans Township, New Jersey|Oldmans Township]], 2025 <ref name="Salem County 2023">[https://www.salemcountynj.gov/county-commissioners/], Salem County, New Jersey, Accessed January 30, 2023.</ref>
|-
| Daniel Timmerman 
| R, Elmer, 2025 <ref name="Salem County 2023"/>
|}

Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the [[New Jersey State Constitution]], each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers." These officers are the [[County Clerk]] and [[Probate Court|County Surrogate]] (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the [[Sheriff|County Sheriff]] (elected for a three-year term).<ref>[http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/docconst47.html#page16 New Jersey State Constitution (1947), Article VII, Section II, Paragraph 2], [[New Jersey Department of State]]. Accessed October 26, 2017.</ref> Salem County's constitutional officers, elected on a countywide basis are:<ref>{{cite web |title=2014 General Election Summary Report |url=https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2014-General-Summary-Report-11-4-14.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018195047/https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2014-General-Summary-Report-11-4-14.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |url-status=live |website=Salem County Clerk |access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2015 General Election Summary Report |url=https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2015-General-Summary-Report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018195048/https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2015-General-Summary-Report.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |url-status=live |website=Salem County Clerk }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Official Summary Report: 2018 General Election |url=https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/OfficialSummaryReport11-6-2018.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018195049/https://salemcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/OfficialSummaryReport11-6-2018.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |url-status=live |website=Salem County Clerk |access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title
! Representative
|-
| County Clerk
| Dale A. Cross (R, [[Pennsville Township, New Jersey|Pennsville Township]], 2029)<ref>[https://salemcountyclerk.org/about/ About], Salem County Clerk's Office. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref><ref>[http://coanj.com/member-list/clerks/ Clerks], Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref>
|-
| Sheriff
| Charles "Chuck" Miller (R, [[Salem, New Jersey|Salem]], 2027)<ref>[https://www.salemcountysheriff.com/ Home Page], Salem County Sheriff's Office. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://coanj.com/member-list/sheriffs/ Sheriffs], Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref> 
|-
| Surrogate
| Nicki A. Burke (D, [[Woodstown, New Jersey|Woodstown]], 2025).<ref>[https://surrogate.salemcountynj.gov/ Surrogate's Court], Salem County, New Jersey. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://coanj.com/member-list/surrogates/ Surrogates], Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Accessed June 20, 2022.</ref>
|}

The Salem County Prosecutor is Kristin J. Telsey, who was nominated to fill the position in September 2022.<ref>[https://www.salemcountyprosecutor.org/about-the-scpo/ About], Salem County Prosecutor's Office. Accessed August 16, 2022.</ref><ref>Gray, Matt. [https://www.nj.com/salem/2021/09/new-prosecutor-in-nj-county-brings-20-years-of-experience-and-shes-a-local.html"New prosecutor in N.J. county brings 20 years of experience. And she’s a local."], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], September 20, 2021. Accessed August 16, 2022. "After more than 20 years in the legal profession, Kristin Telsey is three weeks into her role as the top law enforcement official in Salem County and says she’s excited to be a part of the changing landscape of criminal justice in New Jersey. Telsey, 46, was named acting Salem County prosecutor earlier this month following the retirement of John T. Lenahan, who served in the role for 18 years."</ref> Salem County is a part of Vicinage 15 of the [[New Jersey Superior Court]] (along with [[Cumberland County, New Jersey|Cumberland County]] and [[Gloucester County, New Jersey|Gloucester County]]), seated in [[Woodbury, New Jersey|Woodbury]] in Gloucester County; the Assignment Judge for the vicinage is Benjamin C. Telsey. The Salem County Courthouse is in Salem.<ref>[https://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/courts/vicinages/cumglosal.html Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem Counties], New Jersey Courts. Accessed October 22, 2017.</ref> No Democrat has won county-wide office since 2020.