OCEAN COUNTY – For years Gary Quinn has been a public servant. He’s served on the schoolboard and Lacey Township Committee, county boards and for two terms, as a member of the Board of Ocean County Commissioners but now he’ll be focusing more on family and maybe some Lacey Township interests.
Quinn, a longtime Republican, didn’t run for re-election last year. He and fellow commissioner Barbara Jo Crea did not receive the endorsement of the Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore who instead chose Manchester Mayor Robert Arace and Berkeley Township Board of Education President Jennifer Bacchione, whose husband serves as mayor of Berkeley Township, to take their place on the party ticket.
“It has been 26 years. I was fortunate enough to get involved on the school board and spent five years there. I went on to the governing body in Lacey and then spent the last six years being on the county board,” Quinn remarked.
Quinn was the first to be sworn in as a commissioner after the state retired the title of “Freeholder” on that board making it a Board of Commissioners although the term Freeholder is often mistakenly used out of habit after generations of reference by officials, professional staff and residents.
“Every day we wake up is a blessing,” Quinn said in an interview with Micromedia Publications/Jersey Shore Online.com. Quinn also served on the Pinelands Commission for 11 years having been appointed by former Governor Chris Christie “for what was supposed to be a three-year stint. I just got off it last year when I was replaced by Governor (Phil) Murphy.”
Outgoing Commissioner Gary Quinn stands with his family after being honored for his role in county government. (Photo by Stephanie Faughnan)
“I’ve had a good run and have had some great support over the years. I am very blessed. I certainly enjoyed it. At the end of the day, it is another chapter in my life. Will I miss it? I will probably miss more so the people. The people we work with, whether it be the town or the county. They are the ones who make it successful and the elected officials look good all the time,” he added.
Quinn noted, “unfortunately, they don’t get the credit that they deserve all the time. I always make sure I point to that and that people understand that the people who sit on those boards – that we aren’t five geniuses – we’re just five individuals who the public gave trust to, to do the right thing.”
“I’ve always tried to follow that path and be independent… If people don’t like what I am doing they have the right to vote me out of office and I am very blessed that I haven’t had that happen,” he added.
“It really has been a good run,” Quinn said. He had put out a press release in February announcing that he would not be running for reelection on the Board of Commissioners. “It was a tough decision to make. When you reach that level and you realize you are being supported not only by your own town but 33 municipalities – when you put it in perspective and see the amount of time you spend to represent 33 towns its hard because in the last two years, I’m out at least two to four nights every week and one day on the weekend.”
Quinn recalled, “when I was younger and I first got involved in this stuff it was a little bit different because I missed out on so much for my kids. My kids grew up without me being there for a lot of their activities and now, at this point in my life I have grandkids that I absolutely adore and that is more of a priority to me than being involved in the level of government that I’ve been involved in.”
He recalled advice he received from a former Lacey Mayor who said during his first election, ‘enjoy tonight because moving forward after tonight, every decision you make somebody isn’t going to be happy with.’
“He was spot on. I never regretted it. One thing I’ve always kept in the back of my mind and with all the people I’ve served with, you have to remember it is not our checkbook. The checkbook belongs to the people and we have to take that into account and be cautious in how we spend money,” he said.
Quinn expressed, “I hope the new members of the Board of Commissioners take that same path and remember that you don’t go into politics for a career, you go into politics to try and help people and that is how I got involved with this; I decided I wanted to try and help people. I look at government as a business and I think the best people in office are those with experience in having run a business.”
“I have no regrets. I am actually looking forward to the time off. I tell my wife, Linda that time is more valuable to me at this point in my life. You just don’t know how much time you are going to have. I want to spend time with kids, my grandkids and my wife Linda who has been a saint. She’s put through with a lot,” Quinn said.
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