Governor wants NJ to end its use of ‘freeholder’ term
County title once left out women and Black people
TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey will probably shed its national distinction of keeping a Colonial vestige rooted in structural racism: the title of county freeholder.
Gov. Phil Murphy and the two Democratic leaders of the state Legislature announced Thursday that they support legislation that would do away with the “outdated” term in favor of county commissioner, which is more commonly used around the country.
State and local lawmakers have tried in fits and starts for years to make the change. Last week’s announcement may have been driven by protests demanding racial and social justice after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis.
“As our nation tears down symbols of injustice, we must also tear down words we use in New Jersey that were born from racism,” Murphy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a joint statement. “It’s past time for New Jersey to phase out the term ‘freeholder’ from our public discourse – a term coined when only white male landowners could hold public office.”
Each of New Jersey’s 21 counties elects a freeholder who sits on a board of chosen freeholders. People have voted for them since New Jersey’s inception two centuries ago.
Very few people know what freeholders do – they control county finances and policies – let alone what the name means. Freeholder is an old English term, predating the American Revolution, to describe a person who owns land free of debt. No other state uses the term “freeholder” to describe elected county officials.
At the time it came into use, Black people and women could not own property, effectively barring them from elected office and keeping white men in power. There were women freeholders in the 18th century – single women were allowed to inherit and own property in New Jersey – and from 1776 to 1807, the state did not limit suffrage based on gender or race as long as the voter owned property “free and clear,” according to the Asbury Park Press.
The makeup of freeholder boards has changed over the years to include more women and minorities, but the name stuck.
The most recent attempt to dump the term was led by Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, R-Morris, in 2018. His bill passed the Senate but never made it out of the Assembly.
He suggested changing the name of freeholder to county commissioner, as other states have done.
“When you have a title, which refers to men ‘free and clear,’ you ultimately discourage individuals from participating in critical local government positions,” Pennacchio said.
His effort faced opposition in Ocean County, where the all-Republican freeholder board voted in favor of a resolution against the bill.
Sweeney said Thursday that Pennacchio’s S-855 will be considered by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee at its next meeting Thursday.
“This is not a matter of political correctness; it is a corrective action to replace an outdated designation that is rooted in institutional prejudice,” Murphy, Sweeney and Coughlin said.