Stacey Jordan

Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton doubts his party will have to defend two open freeholder seats this year, when control of the board hanging in the balance.  But even if they do, Layton said it won't make a difference.

"It doesn't matter if there are two vacancies or not. Last year we lost an election because of Barack Obama, and this year that dynamic has changed.  We have Chris Christie at the top of the ticket," he said.

Both Jim Wujcik and Bill Haines - the only freeholders up for reelection -- are mulling retirement.

While Layton was less certain about Wujcik, he was confident that Haines would decide to give it another go.

"Bill Haines has been a great freeholder, and he's contemplated running for reelection a few times during the last couple elections he's run," Layton said.  "I think he indicated pretty clearly that he's interested in running and a lot of things changed when Aubrey [Fenton] and Stacey [Jordan] lost."

Source: Burlington County Web site

Bill Haines, Jr.

Burlington County Freeholder Bill Haines, Jr. is considering retiring at the end of his current term, a move that could make the Republicans’ 3-2 majority on the board even more tenuous.  

“I’m still trying to decide what I’m going to do about freeholder,” said Haines, who this year finishes up his fifth term.

Haines, a Republican who’s sometimes known as “Cranberry Bill,” said that the expansion of his cranberry and blueberry farming business is the main reason he’s considering retiring from the political world.  

The fact that control of the freeholder board is up this year, with Republicans holding just a one seat majority over Democrats, complicates matters.  

“I probably would have made the decision a long time ago if Aubrey Fenton and Stacey Jordan had won the last time, but with control up it makes the decision more difficult,” he said.

Democrats Chris Brown and Maryanne Reinhart have ousted Republican Freeholders Aubrey Fenton and Stacey Jordan in Burlington County, and Democrat Timothy Tyler defeated Republican Gary Woodend in the race for County Clerk by a 54%-46% margin.  The GOP majority on the Burlington Board of Freeholders is now reduced to 3-2, and Democrats now have a County Clerk and Surrogate.

A summary of daily newspaper endorsements in local races:

Democrats stormed Burlington County Republican headquarters in Mount Holly earlier today, demanding to know how Freeholder Director Aubrey Fenton and Freeholder Stacey Jordan are funding their campaign with one week to go before Election Day.

Evesham Deputy Mayor Chris Brown and Shamong Committeewoman Mary Anne Reinhart wonder how Fenton and Jordan can pay for a barrage of Philadelphia network television advertising when the GOP candidates reported just $44,000 in the bank in their latest ELEC report.  

Endorsement lauds Freeholders' record of cutting taxes and controlled spending

They couldn’t beat the GOP machine outright, so they’ve decided to toss a wrench into the Burlington County freeholders’ race.

Republican elected officials Jon Shevelew and Debbie Sarcone announced today that they intend to back the Democratic team of Chris Brown and Mary Anne Reinhart.

Shevelew, the Republican Mayor of Shamong, and Sarcone, the only Republican elected official in Evesham, ran off the line together as freeholder candidates in the Republican primary.

At the time, Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton called them "bugs on the windshield" in the face of GOP Freeholder Director Aubrey Fenton and his running mate, Freeholder Stacy Jordan.

Evesham Taxpayers Anxiously Watch Chris Brown’s Budget Clock

Fenton and Jordan Continue to Hide Behind GOP Spin Machine

Fenton and Jordan Call On County Candidates Brown and Reinhart To Denounce Plan That Cuts Municipal Aid To Towns, Including Their Own