Freeholders Object to Title Change; Toward Political Correctness?

CREST HAVEN – Since the 15th century there have been freeholders. While the definition changed the title remains. 
That unique, time-honored title is endangered by bills in the Legislature. One of the Senate bill’s primary sponsors is Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st), who served as a Cape May County freeholder before being elected to the Legislature. The other primary sponsor is Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-26th).
An Assembly version, sponsored by Assemblywoman Bettylou DeCroce (R-26th) would, as introduced Jan. 29, 2018, “permit” boards of freeholders to change their titles to county commissioners. The latest Senate version voted upon April 12, and which won 27-4 with nine not voting, requires the renaming action. Van Drew voted yes, according to the Legislature’s website.
Van Drew, in a telephone interview May 23, said he would try to amend the bill so that freeholder boards could keep their titles if that was their desire, but he was uncertain of the outcome, since Pennacchio told him the bill would not be permissive.
He said that, as part of a compromise, signs, letterheads, and other title changes would not be immediately required, but could be changed in time when ordinary alterations or reorders are made.
Van Drew said some people expressed uncertainty about what it means to be a freeholder. He said he had conversed with some freeholders who had expressed a desire for a title change. He noted that, when the term was used in early history, no blacks or females could be freeholders, since they could not own land. That, obviously is no longer the case.
Van Drew said he thinks a change would “Make more people understand what a freeholder’s role is.”
The freeholder title for county governing officials is unique to New Jersey, but the bill, S-402, would banish the title and rename such persons county commissioners.
At the May 22 freeholder meeting, a resolution in opposition had easy, 5-0, passage. The vote followed a sound thrashing of the proposal by Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, who is also the president of the South Jersey Freeholders Association.
He said the prior evening at a meeting of that group, sentiment also ran against renaming freeholders as county commissioners.
Thornton’s reasons to retain the title of freeholder were partly tradition, and partly, as noted in the resolution, a move toward political correctness.
It states, “The Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders strongly believes that this effort to abolish the term Freeholder is part of a larger, ongoing effort to purge from American history anything from our past considered offensive to the values of modern society…rather than ignoring the past, or pretending it didn’t exist, Cape May County has consistently striven to improve our future by acknowledging both the good and bad actions of our history in an effort to ensure a better future for all.”
The original meaning of the term was that of an owner of land that was free from a mortgage or other encumbrance, thus a “free holder.”
Thornton quickly noted, “I can tell you I would never have been a freeholder. I always had a mortgage. This is nonsense. We have women freeholders and all different races. There is no discrimination here.”
In addition to the title change, the Senate bill: “would also require counties to update their letterheads, stationary, and other writings, as well as their internet websites, to bear the title of county commissioners in place of freeholders or chosen freeholders within one year (Jan. 1, 2019).”
All those changes would, by statute, be done at county taxpayer expense.
That fact is not overlooked in the resolution: “Use of taxpayer dollars in an effort to erase history for no other reason than political correctness is, in the opinion of this board, misuse of funds.”
The resolution notes that while the state was under British rule, the term “chosen freeholder” was used to identify a freeholder who was elected or appointed from their town to represent the interests of the people of their town in county government.
After declaring itself independent of Great Britain, “the State of New Jersey was unique in that all people, regardless of race or gender who met the other criteria could and did vote.”
Development of a “Board of Chosen Freeholders” was a major step in the self-government of the people of New Jersey counties over the will of the king distributed to the subjects through magistrates or colonial officials,” according to the resolution.
“In 1807, for reasons none other than party politics, the state’s Legislature ignored the constitution and took the vote away from women and people of color,” it continued.
As an added blow against the bill, the resolution noted that there are commissioners in public bodies, including utility authorities and library, bridge commissions and cultured agencies and boards, thus diluting the importance of the top county officials’ titles.
As a parting shot, the resolution states that the “members of the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders believe this change would do little to increase public awareness of county government and would, in effect, erase centuries of county history.”