By Michael Ritchie | The Save Jersey Blog
I recently met up with North Arlington native and Bergen County Freeholder Candidate, Brian Fitzhenry, to discuss the current state of Bergen County and his campaign for Freeholder. Mr. Fitzhenry is no stranger to Bergen County politics, Save Jerseyans, as he ran an extremely formidable campaign for the District 36 State Senate seat in 2013; we expect no less of him in 2014, Save Jerseyans.
We first spoke of the state of Bergen County and his vision for the constituents of New Jersey’s most populous county should he become elected freeholder in November. “We tax families and businesses out of Bergen County,” said Fitzhenry, referring the Democrat-dominated freeholder board. “I have a business here, and we need to do more to attract new businesses into Bergen County and help the ones that are already here. Bergen County also needs to be more affordable for the residents.”
As the Vice President of Marketing for Newrent, Inc., a family owned business, Mr. Fitzhenry understands firsthand the challenges a business faces in the eyes of harsh conditions. “When you run a family business, you need to be ready to make tough decisions,” said Fitzhenry during our meeting. “We run a small business, and nobody feels the economy like we do. We need to continue to operate in the face of a tough economy, and remember that every decision made affects our staff. When people rely on you, you need to realize that these decisions should be made not only in the best interest of the company, but also in the best interest of the staff”
Fitzhenry is not unfamiliar with life in public service, as he is a six year member of the North Arlington Board of Education, served as president of the North Arlington Education Foundation, and has been a member of the North Arlington Fire Department since 1991. “Being on the Board of Education was an incredibly rewarding experience,” opined Fitzhenry.
“However, it was not always easy, as we needed to negotiate teacher contracts and vendor agreements, and do so within the constraints of an adopted budget. These decisions were made all while also advancing the educational needs of students, teachers and administrators within the school system. But, seeing the smiles on the faces of students and witnessing the capital improvements completed in our district made it all worth the while for me.”
Fitzhenry also helped the North Arlington Fire department secure federal government grants used to purchase new equipment and apparatus for the department saving residents of North Arlington countless sums of money, a feat that was not duplicated by any other department in New Jersey at that time.
Extended school hours and days is a topic proposed by the Governor earlier this year, and one which I supported for various reasons. Given Mr. Fitzhenry’s experience serving on the board of education, I asked him for his opinion on this matter.
“The first thing that came to my mind when I heard about this was: how are we going to pay for it,” said Fitzhenry. “It seems reasonable that if you spend more time in school, you will learn more; but there are costs associated with this and there needs to be a better way to fund our school systems. This also can’t be the one single solution to the problems facing our school districts and our students. The success of a student relies on a formula involving: the student, the students’ family and the school. The school is just one facet to this, and without the other two being there a student cannot succeed.”
When asked why he is running for the position of freeholder, Fitzhenry’s response was clear: “This race is important to me. There is much that I can offer to constituents of Bergen County and I will serve the people in the best way possible. But, this race is also important to me in creating unity within the Republican Party. Whether we agree or disagree on issues, we need to stand together at the end of the day.”
For more information on Brian Fitzhenry or a chance to donate time and/or services to his Freeholder campaign, please contact him at brian@newrent.com, follow him on Twitter at @Fitz4Freeholder, or visit the campaign Facebook page at Brian Fitzhenry for Freeholder.
Fitzhenrey reallly has to take a position on the disgusting sex-for-play of county contracts going on in Bergen County. the Republicans of Bergen have to stop the sex scandal going on in Bergen. Its clear Bergen Republicans really need to clean house. We Republicans cant take the orstrich approach ANYMORE. County Exe. Donovan