Editing Burlington County, New Jersey (section)

===County government===
Burlington County is governed by a [[Board of County Commissioners (New Jersey)|board of county commissioners]] composed of five members elected [[at-large]] by the voters in [[Partisan (political)|partisan elections]] that serve staggered three-year terms, with one or two seats up for election each year in a three-year cycle. [[Burlington County Board of County Commissioners]] have both administrative and policy-making powers. Each Burlington County Commissioner oversees a particular area of service: Administration & Natural Resources; Education & Justice; Public Works & Veteran Services; Public Safety & Health and Human Services; and Hospital and Medical Services & Elections.<ref name=Commissioners>[https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/201/Board-of-County-Commissioners Board of County Commissioners], Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023. "The Burlington County Board consists of 5 members, 1 or 2 are elected each year from the county at-large for a 3-year term. The Director is elected annually by the board."</ref> In 2016, commissioners were paid $10,553 and the commissioner director was paid an annual salary of $11,553; the commissioner salaries are the lowest of the state's 21 counties.<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: $11,053; Other freeholders: $10,553"</ref>

{{As of|2025}}, Burlington County's Commissioners are (terms for Director and Deputy Director end every December 31):<ref name=Commissioners/><ref>[https://co.burlington.nj.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3570#page=10 2022 County Data Sheet], Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=Burlington2022>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Burlington/116176/web.307039/#/summary November 8, 2022 Summary Report Burlington County Official Results], Burlington County, New Jersey, updated November 29, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=Burlington2021>[https://press.co.burlington.nj.us/PRESS/ElectionArchive//2021/General//2021_G_OFFICIAL_Summary.pdf November 2, 2021 Summary Report Burlington County Official Results], Burlington County, New Jersey, updated November 18, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref><ref name=Burlington2020>[https://press.co.burlington.nj.us/PRESS/ElectionArchive//2020//2020_GEN_Official_Summary_Report.pdf November 3, 2020 Summary Report Burlington County Official Results] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213130228/https://press.co.burlington.nj.us/PRESS/ElectionArchive//2020//2020_GEN_Official_Summary_Report.pdf |date=February 13, 2023 }}, Burlington County, New Jersey, updated November 23, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Commissioner 
! Party, Residence, Term 
|-
| Director Felicia Hopson 
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|D]], [[Willingboro Township, New Jersey|Willingboro Township]], 2027<ref>[https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/directory.aspx?EID=336 Felicia Hopson], Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref>
|-
| Deputy Director Tom Pullion 
| D, [[Edgewater Park, New Jersey|Edgewater Park]], 2026<ref>[https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/directory.aspx?EID=320 Tom Pullion], Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref>
|-
| Tyler Burrell
| D, [[Delran Township, New Jersey|Delran Township]], 2027<ref>[https://co.burlington.nj.us/directory.aspx?EID=339 Daniel J. O'Connell], Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref>
|-
| Allison Eckel 
| D, [[Medford, New Jersey|Medford]], 2025<ref>[https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/directory.aspx?EID=449 Allison Eckel], Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref>
|-
| [[Balvir Singh]] 
| D, [[Burlington Township, New Jersey|Burlington Township]], 2026<ref>[https://co.burlington.nj.us/directory.aspx?EID=321 Balvir Singh], Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref>
|}

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> Burlington County's Constitutional Officers are:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title
! Representative
|-
| County Clerk
| Joanne Schwartz (D, [[Southampton Township, New Jersey|Southampton Township]], 2028)<ref>[https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/192/County-Clerk County Clerk], Burlington County. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://coanj.com/member-list/clerks/ Members List: Clerks], Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref>
|-
| Sheriff
| James H. Kostoplis (D, [[Bordentown, New Jersey|Bordentown]], 2025)<ref>[https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/130/Sheriffs-Department Sheriff's Department], Burlington County. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://coanj.com/member-list/sheriffs/ Members List: Sheriffs], Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref> 
|-
| Surrogate
| Brian J. Carlin (D, Burlington Township, 2026)<ref>[https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/538/Surrogate Surrogate], Burlington County. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://coanj.com/member-list/surrogates/ Members List: Surrogates], Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref>
|}

The Burlington County Prosecutor is LaChia L. Bradshaw of the [[Columbus, New Jersey|Columbus]] section of [[Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey|Mansfield Township]] who was nominated by [[Governor of New Jersey]] [[Phil Murphy]] and sworn into office in July 2022 after confirmation by the [[New Jersey Senate]].<ref>[https://burlpros.org/about/prosecutor-lachia-l-bradshaw/ Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw], Office of the Burlington County Prosecutor. Accessed February 6, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://www.tapinto.net/towns/mount-laurel/sections/law-and-justice/articles/commissioners-applaud-confirmation-of-lachia-bradshaw-as-new-county-prosecutor "Commissioners Applaud Confirmation of LaChia Bradshaw as New County Prosecutor"], TAP into Mount Laurel, July 1, 2022. Accessed February 6, 2023. "The Burlington County Commissioners congratulated LaChia Bradshaw on her confirmation as Burlington County Prosecutor Wednesday and expressed confidence that her leadership will help continue the office's outstanding record of service.... Governor Phil Murphy nominated Bradshaw, a Columbus resident, to serve as the next Burlington County Prosecutor in May, replacing Scott Coffina, who held the office since 2017."</ref> Burlington County constitutes Vicinage 3 of the [[New Jersey Superior Court]] and is seated at the Burlington County Courts Facility and County Office Building in [[Mount Holly, New Jersey|Mount Holly]], with additional space in the Olde Courthouse and Rancocas Building, also in Mount Holly; the Assignment Judge for Vicinage 3 is Ronald E. Bookbinder.<ref>[https://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/courts/vicinages/burlington.html Burlington County], New Jersey Courts. Accessed October 22, 2017.</ref>

In the 2012 general election, Democrats Aimee Belgard and Joanne Schwartz won the election as Freeholders (now Commissioners) over Republican incumbents Bruce Garganio and Mary Ann O'Brien, despite being outspent by a six-to-one margin.<ref>Levinsky, Dave.[https://archive.today/20131001000135/http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/republicans-outspent-democrats-to-in-losing-freeholder-campaign/article_7e660104-fbb4-559e-a06f-6816a984ad17.html?TNNoMobile "Republicans outspent Democrats 6 to 1 in losing freeholder campaign"], ''[[Burlington County Times]]'', December 13, 2012. Accessed September 30, 2013. "Released earlier this month by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, the campaign finance reports showed Freeholders Bruce Garganio and Mary Ann O'Brien spent a total of $642,778 in their losing effort, including $85,000 on television advertising during the last two weeks before the election.... By contrast, Democratic Freeholders-elect Aimee Belgard and Joanne Schwartz spent a combined $82,707, none on TV commercials."</ref> However, in 2014, both Garganio and O'Brien were successful in winning back seats on the Freeholder board, while Aimee Belgard lost her bid for U.S. Congress, losing the popular vote in both [[Ocean County, New Jersey|Ocean]] and Burlington counties.<ref>Sharnak, Debbie. [http://ivn.us/2014/11/05/republican-tom-macarthur-wins-njs-competitive-congressional-race-double-digits/ "Republican Tom MacArthur Wins NJ's Most Competitive Congressional Race — By Double Digits"], IVN, November 5, 2014. Accessed May 11, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.nj.gov/state/elections/2014-results/2014-official-general-results-us-house.pdf Official List Candidates for House of Representatives For GENERAL ELECTION 11/04/2014 Election], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 2, 2014. Accessed May 11, 2015.</ref> In 2015, Republican newcomers Kate Gibbs and Ryan Peters ousted Belgard and Schwartz, again giving the Republican Party full control on the Freeholder Board.<ref>Scala, Kristina. [http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/local/election/republicans-peters-gibbs-ousts-democrats-win-burlington-county-freeholders-race/article_94a3c438-8293-11e5-a19f-538b44979813.html "Republicans Peters, Gibbs oust Democrats; win Burlington County freeholders race"], ''[[Burlington County Times]]'', November 3, 2015. Accessed March 27, 2016. "Republican newcomers Ryan Peters and Kate Gibbs unseated incumbent Democrats Aimee Belgard and Joanne Schwartz in the Burlington County freeholders race. The 3-2 GOP majority will now transform into a full five-seat stronghold on the board."</ref> In 2017, Democratic newcomers Tom Pullion and [[Balvir Singh]] defeated Republican incumbents Bruce Garganio and Linda Hughes, winning the county election for Democrats for the first time in a non-presidential election year in decades.<ref>Krebs, Rose. [http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20171108/democrats-declare-upset-in-county-freeholder-race-republicans-will-not-concede "Democrats declare upset in county freeholder race; Republicans will not concede"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153933/http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20171108/democrats-declare-upset-in-county-freeholder-race-republicans-will-not-concede |date=December 3, 2017 }}, ''[[Burlington County Times]]'', November 8, 2017. Accessed December 2, 2017.</ref>
<ref name=BCT2017>Levinsky, David. [http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20171108/burlington-county-democrats-gain-ground-with-election-wins "Burlington County Democrats gain ground with election wins"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204061152/http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20171108/burlington-county-democrats-gain-ground-with-election-wins |date=December 4, 2017 }}, ''[[Burlington County Times]]'', November 8, 2017. Accessed December 2, 2017.</ref>

In 2018, Democrat Joanne Schwartz defeated Republican incumbent Tim Tyler in the County Clerk election. In the freeholder elections, Democrats Felicia Hopson and George Youngkin defeated Republican incumbents Kate Gibbs and Linda Hughes. This gave Democrats a 4-1 majority, gaining control of the Freeholder Board for the first time since 1975. George Youngkin won despite having suspended his campaign due to a past domestic violence charge that was later dropped. He resigned on January 2, the day after being sworn in. Democrats appointed Daniel J. O’Connell to replace him, until a special election could be held on November 5, 2019.<ref>[https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20181106/democrats-win-control-of-burlington-county-board-of-freeholders “Democrats win control of Burlington County Board of Freeholders”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713235817/https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20181106/democrats-win-control-of-burlington-county-board-of-freeholders |date=July 13, 2019 }}, ''[[Burlington County Times]]'', November 6, 2018. Accessed November 7, 2019.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Comengo |first1=Carol |title=George Youngkin resigns as Burlington County freeholder after one day in office |url=https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/01/02/burllington-county-freeholder-george-youngkin-nj-quits-after-day-office/2465752002/ |website=The Courier-Post |publisher=USA Today Network |access-date=June 17, 2020}}</ref> In 2019, Democrat Anthony Basantis defeated Republican Michael Ditzel in the Sheriff election, replacing retired Republican Sheriff [[Jean Stanfield]], who was elected to the [[2019 New Jersey General Assembly election#District 8|State Assembly]]. In the regular election for one freeholder position, Democrat Linda A. Hynes defeated Republican Incumbent Latham Tiver. In the special election for the remaining 2 years of George Youngkin's term, incumbent Democrat Daniel J. O’Connell, who had originally been appointed to the seat, defeated Republican Lee Schneider. The election gave Democrats control over every county-wide office, except the Surrogate, which they won in 2021.<ref>[https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20191105/democrats-declare-victory-in-burlington-county-freeholder-sheriff-races “Democrats declare victory in Burlington County freeholder, sheriff races”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107214745/https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20191105/democrats-declare-victory-in-burlington-county-freeholder-sheriff-races |date=November 7, 2019 }}, ''[[Burlington County Times]]'', November 5, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019.</ref> Republicans have not won a county-wide race since 2016. However, the majority of Burlington County's state legislators are still Republicans.

In April 2022, Allison Eckel was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that became vacant after Linda Hynes resigned to take office as a [[New Jersey Superior Court]] judge.<ref>[https://centraljersey.com/2022/04/27/burlington-county-officials-appoint-newest-commissioner/ "Burlington County officials appoint newest commissioner"], ''Bordentown News'', April 27, 2022. Accessed June 20, 2022. "The Burlington County Commissioners welcomed Allison Eckel as the newest member of its board on April 27, saying they looked forward to collaborating with her to continue to deliver fiscally sound government that is responsive to county residents’ needs.... Eckel joins the five-member board to serve the remainder of the unexpired term of Linda Hynes, who resigned after her nomination to become Superior Court judge was confirmed."</ref> The following month, Burlington County Republicans filed suit, claiming that Eckel should be removed from office and the seat left vacant until November 2022, because the statutory timeline for the appointment was not followed.<ref>Fox, Joey. [https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/burlington-gop-files-new-suit-to-remove-eckel-from-county-commission/ "Burlington GOP files new suit to remove Eckel from county commission; Dems missed deadline to choose new commissioner, but judge allowed appointment to go through anyways"], New Jersey Globe, May 4, 2022. Accessed June 20, 2022. "Burlington Republicans filed suit yesterday to undo the seating of Democrat Allison Eckel to the Burlington County Commission because her appointment was not done within the proper time period; more than a month ago, a Superior Court judge dismissed an essentially identical lawsuit because the case wasn't 'ripe for adjudication at this time.' Attorney Christopher Dasti wrote in the new suit that Eckel's seat 'must be declared vacant until a duly elected person is chosen by the voters of Burlington County' this November."</ref>