TRENTON, NJ—The New Jersey Conference of Mayors, which represents the interests of New Jersey’s Mayors as a unified voice on issues to State and Federal legislators, has selected Union County’s Daniel P. Sullivan as their “Freeholder of the Year.”
Sullivan, a Democrat from Elizabeth who has served on the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders since 1995, will be retiring from the Board at the end of this year, his sixth term. He is the longest serving member of the Freeholder Board, and has served as chairman and vice chairman a number of times.
“I am both humbled and grateful that the Mayors have selected me for this honor,” Sullivan said. “I have enjoyed serving the public and during this time have also had the opportunity to work with elected officials across the state, including many Mayors in New Jersey.”
Sullivan, an outspoken member of the board who specialized in development and transportation issues, made his mark as a policy guru, and enjoys planning, crafting and shaping major governmental initiatives across the board.
“Dan has a gift for being able to understand complex issues, and for problem solving,” said Union County Freeholder Linda Carter, who currently serves as the Chairman of the Board. “He can also communicate complex ideas in very understandable terms to the public.”
During Sullivan’s tenure, the Board marked the initiation and completion of important economic development initiatives they either spearheaded or assisted on, including the Union County College building in Elizabeth, the Park Madison Project in Plainfield, the new Parking Garage and office development in Elizabeth, the Froehlich Building in Westfield, the expansion of one of the county’s largest employers, Wakefern in Elizabeth, and various transportation improvements that included the expansion of Liberty International Airport, and shuttle service on Route 22.
As Chairman in 2010, Sullivan oversaw part of the distribution of more than $27 million in Federal stimulus funds across Union County and spearheaded drives to improve green initiatives and energy conservation at County facilities.
While serving on the Board, Freeholder Sullivan has been chairman of the Union County Economic Development Committee and the Fiscal Affairs Committee. He has also served on the Community Development Block Grant Committee, the Transportation Advisory Board, and the Labor Advisory Board.
Freeholder Sullivan has served twice as the chairman of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, which allocates federal funding for transportation
The New Jersey Conference of Mayors was founded in 1963 by a group of leading Mayors who believed their collective voices should be heard in Trenton and Washington. As front-line soldiers in communities across the State, the founding Mayors were interested in each others activities and chose to find common ground on issues impacting their residents. NJCM has since become the largest statewide organization in our Nation to exclusively represent the interests of Mayors to the State and Federal Legislatures and Administrations.