The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1926-02-05
Plan TO Make
Terms Uniforms
Legislation Would Provide Three
Year Tenure for Chosen
FreehOlderS.
Opinion By Judge Higbee

OPllllUil Dy JuuSC lll5UCC
The term of office of chosen free
holders in Atlantic County is mooted
question. For years past in all the
municipalities of this County it has
been accepted by the Municipal Clerks
and other authorities, that the term
was for two years, and accordingly
freeholders have been elected every
other year and have served for two
years after their election Since this
is a matter vital to every citizen of the
County, former Assemblyman Bertram
e. Whitman, who is Campaign Mana
ger for the Republican party, and in
charge of Republican Headquarters of
the County, asked County Counsel
Enoch A Higbee for an opinion upon
the subject Judge Higbee replied to
Mr.. Whitman's inquiry by enclosing
an opinion he has recently given to
the City Clerk of Ventnor City. He
says, that under existing laws, he does
not consider the term of office as uni
form. To clarity the situation he has
drawn an Act, which was presented to
Senator Richards and by him has been
introduced in the Legislature making
the term of office of all Chosen Free
holders in this and other Second Glass
counties hereafter elected three years.
The Judges opinion in full is as fol
lows:
| have yours of December 30th, ask
ing my opinion as to the term of the
office of Chosen Freebooter elected
from your city. | am assuming that
your city is governed by an Act enti-
tied: can Act relating to and provid-
e. r.
this state containing population of
less than 10000 inhabitants" P. L.
1897, p. As, G. S. 1897.
You are advised that Section Z of
the above entitled Act as amended by
p. L. 1899, p. 143, among other things
provides that there shall be elected
when said city is divided into two
wards, one chosen freeholder from
each ward, who shall hold office for
term of three years. -. When said
city is divided into more than two
wards two chosen freeholders shall be
elected from said city at large who
shall hold Office for the term of three
years"
Under the provisions of this section,
the cities of this county that operated
under the above quoted act elected
their chosen freeholders for term of
three years until the county, by reason
of it's increased population, passed into
second class county, which was on
the 18th day of January 1906, being
the date the census of 1905 was Off
cially promulgated The county then
became county of the second class
and the term of office of it's chosen
freeholders, in Townships at least,
was then governed by the provisions
of an act found in p. l.. 1901, p. as,
&C. S. p. 1885, Sec. 56), which among
other things provided, "The legal vot-
ers of each township of this state shall
have full power and authority at their
respective annual township elections
to elect for each township, by plu-
rality of votes, one member of the
board of chosen freeholders for the
county; every chosen freebooter so
elected in any county of the second
class shall hold his Office until the end
- the taEm for which he was elected
y l.. 1901, p. 40; G. S. iSS, sec. Sc.
The last cited act was entitled "a
further supplement to an act entitled
An Act to incorporate the chosen free
holders in the respective counties of
the state approved April sixteenth,
one thousand eight hundred forty-six +"
The act of 1916 contained the fol-
lowing provision: THE term township
made use of in this act shall be under
stood to comprehend precinct and
ward"
Prior to the PRONUNCIATION of the CEN
sus of 1905, which occurred January
18th, 1906. our county had been a coun-
ty of the third class, and it will be OBJ
served that the act of 1901 provided
that in counties of the third class, the
term of Office of the chosen freehold
ers should be three Years When it
passed into a county of the second
class, the term of Office of freeholders
elected in townships became two
years.
In 1918, there was an act passed en-
titled, IAN Act concerning counties"
p. L. 1918, p. 567. This act largely
collated the then existing statutes per-
tanning to the Board of Chosen Free
holders and the government of coun-
ties, making some changes; and an
other act was passed at the same SEES
sion of the Legislature which became
law, entitled, "An Act to repeal sun
dry acts relative to counties" This
act repealed nearly everything that
was on the statute books relative to
the board of chosen freeholders that
had existed prior to the passage of the
act of 1918 entitled AN Act concern
ing countless" and repealed specifically
the act of 1910, p. 49, herein referred
to. (See Laws 1918, p. $685. And i'm
mediately following the passage of the
act entitled. IAN Act concerning coun-
ties" Chap. 1885, Laws 1915 was enact.
ed which among other things pro-
vides:
Il. The voters of each township
shall have power and authority to
elect for such township, by plurality
of vote a member of the board of cho-
sen freeholders for the county.
"2. The members of such board so
elected shall serve for term of two
years, except where different term
is now fixed by statute"
1t will be observed that this last cit
ed Act deals only with the term of
ofiiceSpf freeholders elected for a town
ship and leaves the term of freehold
ers of other municipalities in the coun-
ty untouched. so that we must examine
the other laws relative to freeholders
to ascertain the term of Office of
chosen freebooter elected from a city
governed by the Act of 1897, p. 46, and
there is no law except that already