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| Freeholder Candidate Ron Sworen |
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Ron Sworen was elected to the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders in
November 2006 and took off on January 2, 2007. He strongly believes in Public Service
and has a long history of service to his home in Frenchtown, as a Councilman and Mayor,
and also to the County and the State. He is a Republican Committeeman and has served as
regional vice-chair. His Freeholder responsibilities are Planning Board; Polytech; RVCC;
Library; Open Space Committee; Parks; Information Technology; Public Safety; Emergency
Management; Board of School Estimate; Member Board of Directors - New Jersey Association
of Counties.
Ron is a fiscally conservative Republican. He has strived to bring the lessons learned in local
government to the freeholder board. His efforts have allowed the County budget to be reduced
each year he has served. The budget has been reduced $5.8 million in three years and the taxes
reduced by $1.2 million.
He redirected and restructured a 5-year, required IT project for intra-county
communications from a single direction fiber based system that would cost the
taxpayers $1.6 million plus $35,000 per year to a multi-redundant microwave based
system that was totally funded by Paris grants and will save the County over $50,000
per year, and was completed in 16 months. The project has received a state-wide
award for excellence.
In 2007, the County farmland preservation program was backlogged. Ron worked with all of the
parties involved to fix the problem and streamline the process. Result is that Hunterdon has
preserved an additional 130 farms. That is 40% of the farms preserved since 1985.
In 2009, he rewrote and had adopted a new open space policy that took the politics out of the
purchases and created a true open process. He also partnered with conservation groups to
help determine purchases and to partner in purchases, saving thousands of additional acres
of open space and helping our open space funds go further.
Ron was elected the 2006 President of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors (NJCM). He has
been on the NJCM Board of Directors since 1999. He was elected a member of the Executive
Board of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJSLOM). He was inducted into the
NJSLOM’s Mayor’s Hall of Fame in 2005. Mr. Sworen was chosen as New Jersey’s Mayor of
the Year for 2006. He received the Frenchtown Lions Club Citizen of the Year in 2002 and was
inducted into the NJSLOM’s Elected Officials Hall of Fame that same year.
Ron move to Hunterdon County in 1977, and with his wife Connie raised their 3 daughters.
Ron’s community activities include: Co-founder Delaware Valley Municipal Alliance for
Governors Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse(chairman 1990-1997); Municipal liaison for
DVMA since inception (1990-current)
Member Frenchtown Presbyterian Church, served as Trustee 6 years, Elder 8 years
Coached t-ball, little league, softball, soccer (1985-1993)
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