Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom kicks off her re-election campaign in Morristown

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By Richard Babcock

On March 1, at the Republican Headquarters in Morristown, Margaret Nordstrom announced her candidacy for re-election to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

She was joined by fellow members of the freeholder board, mayors from throughout the county, the clerk of Morris County, Joan Bramhall, leaders from local Conservative and TEA party organizations, and the chairman of the Morris County Republican Committee, John Sette.

freeholder margaret nordstrom
Morris County Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom

In her address, Ms. Nordstrom talked of the many accomplishments of which she is most proud, and promised to continue her focus on keeping Morris County a model for fiscal responsibility, efficiency, and a region that promotes both business development and a high quality of life.

She briefly outlined one concept that she calls “program-based budgeting.” She said that this process began by requiring all county department heads to not only submit a budget, but to specify expenditures for each and every program for which they are requesting funding.

Ms. Nordstrom explained that this process has allowed the freeholder board to better identify, evaluate, and prioritize spending practices in the county, as well as cut out waste and redundancies, thus keeping a strong grip on spending and taxes.

She was asked about the recent decision by the County College of Morris to admit illegal immigrants to the college at the in-county tuition rate. She stated that the Freeholders were not consulted by the college’s board of trustees, and her position is that she supports their admission to the college; but she believes that they should be required to pay the same tuition rate as out-of-state students.

Ms. Nordstrom said that she has always been dedicated to reducing the size, scope, and cost of government, while not sacrificing the priorities of the county’s residents. These priorities are at the core of her campaign slogan, “Smaller, Smarter Government.”

She stated that among her top priorities is making Morris County the most attractive place for business to come, or stay. She used Honeywell as an example of how the freeholders were able facilitate the involvement of all levels of government to convince them to keep their corporate headquarters in Morris Township, when they were considering moving out of Morris County and perhaps out of New Jersey altogether.

Richard Babcock of Morristown is the coordinator for the Nordstrom for Freeholder campaign and vice-chair of the Morristown Municipal Republican Committee.

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