William O'Dea
William "Bill" O'Dea represents ([1]) District 2 on the Hudson County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders, one of nine members who serve in a legislative role administering all county business. District 2 includes portions of the City of Jersey City. O'Dea's three-year term of office expires on December 31, 2011. O'Dea was elected Chair of the Board of Freeholders on January 4, 2011.[2] In 2012 the Hudson Reporter named him #12 in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people.[3] He was re-elected November 4, 2014 in an uncontested race.[4]
Career
O’Dea was elected Freeholder by one vote in a hotly contested election amongst county committee people to fill the unexpired term of Freeholder Henry “Hank” Gallo, who died unexpectedly in September 1997. In November 1998, Freeholder O’Dea defended his seat for the remaining one year of the term. O'Dea was re-elected in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008.
Now serving his fifth full term, Freeholder O’Dea is Chairman of the County Banking Committee and Member of the following Committees: Contracts Review; Environment, Health and Human Services; Task Force on Homeless; and Public Resources. He also serves as the Freeholder Board's representative to the Hudson County Schools of Technology Board of School Estimate, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, the Workforce Investment Board and the County Planning Board.
O'Dea is a native of Jersey City and served two consecutive terms, in 1985 and 1989, as a Jersey City Councilman. Currently, O’Dea is Deputy Executive Director of the Elizabeth Development Company, an Enterprise Zone development company.
Freeholder O’Dea graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. degree from St. John’s University. He was named to "Who's Who in America" in 2006.
References
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Adriana Rambay Fernández, Stephen LaMarca, Gennarose Pope, Ray Smith, Al Sullivan and E. Assata Wright. "They've Got the Power". The Union City Reporter. January 8, 2012. Pages 1, 4-7 and 10-11.
- ↑ "Hudson County General Election November 4, 2014 Official Results". Hudson County Clerk. November 17, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-23.