User:Alansohn/Frank Finnerty

Frank Finnerty is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who serves on the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Finnerty is one of four members of the nine-member board who are elected on an at-large basis to represent all of the more than 250,000 residents of the county.

Electoral history
He was selected by the Republican county committee to the Board in January 2000 to fill the the unexpired term of fellow Republican Dennis Levinson, who left the Freeholder Board to serve as County Executive of Atlantic County. Finnerty was elected in his own right later that year to fill the balance of the unexpired term, edging Democrat Thomas Getzke in a race that had to be decided by counting over 4,000 absentee ballots. Finnerty was re-elected to a full term of office in 2003, defeating Democrat Joseph Kelly, with 62% of the vote.

Finnerty ran for re-election in 2006. With most votes counted, Finnerty held an early 20-vote lead over Democrat Frank Giordano. The lead expanded to 43 votes, with absentee ballot county underway. On November 16, 2006, after counting and reviewing absentee ballots for ten days, the Atlantic County Board of Elections certified the results, giving Giordano a 332-vote margin over Finnerty. Finnerty ultimately decided not to challenge the results.

Freeholder service
Finnerty was selected by the members of the Freeholder board to serve as Freeholder Chairman for 2004. In 2006, Finnerty was selected by his fellow members to serve as Freeholder Vice Chairman, the second-highest ranking position on the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

On the Board of Chosen Freeholders, Finnerty served as chairman of the Meadowview Review Committee, Public Health and Environment Committee, Public Safety Committee and the Roads and Bridges Committee, and as a member of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Land Development Standards Committee. He served as Freeholder Representative to three advisory boards and commissions; the Local Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Police Training Advisory Board and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Task Force.

Finnerty served five years on the Egg Harbor Township Committee and was the township's Deputy Mayor for three years. He stepped down from his seat in May 2001 to focus on his duties as Freeholder.

Finnerty lost his position as Freeholder in the 2006 election.