Former state Senate president Steve Sweeney – here with his daughter Lauren – is Gloucester County’s new administrator.
After serving on the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners for 13 years and in the state Senate for 20 – both New Jersey records – Democrat Steve Sweeney will now be Gloucester County’s administrator for the next five years.
By a vote of 5-1 – with one abstention – the county board of commissioners named the former Senate president to his new role at its Jan. 2 reorganization meeting.
“It feels like coming home,” said the 66-year-old. “I started here as a freeholder in 1997. I know the county very well. As administrator, my goal is to reduce the cost of government.”
Long political experience and contacts with state and federal lawmakers will enable Sweeney to facilitate shared-service agreements, obtain grants and get better deals with government contractors.
“I know people all over the state and have access to our federal legislators,” he noted. “I can pick up the phone, call people and make a decision.”
Sweeney was born in Camden and graduated from Pennsauken High School in 1977. He joined the Ironworkers Local 399 based in Camden, became a journeyman, and eventually rose up the ranks to be the union’s general vice president.
As president of the Senate from 2010 to 2022 – a position he lost after he was defeated by an unknown Republican in 2021 – Sweeney was involved with gaining state funding for the Rowan College of South Jersey and is thrilled with its growth over the past 20 years.
“Student enrollment has increased from 9,000 to 25,000,” he enthused. “Under the 3+1 arrangement with Rowan University, a student can get a four-year degree for a total of $30,000 or less.”
Sweeney is the founding chair of the Rowan University Steve Sweeney Center for Public Policy, and has been a constant fixture at college groundbreakings for new buildings. He is especially proud that the university is the only one in the state to have a medical school, a veterinary school and a school of osteopathic medicine.
Another project Sweeney is happy about is the building of the Career and Technical Education Center at Rowan’s Deptford campus. It is expected to be completed this spring and comprises 13,000 square feet for HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), electrical, construction and welding training.
“It helps young people who are not ready for the next step to get prepared to learn a trade,” Sweeney explained, adding that the trades let students not interested in college get a good-paying job with health benefits. After being trained at the center, according to Sweeney, they will have a better chance of successfully going through union apprenticeships.
As county administrator, Sweeney will also be involved with preparing the county budget and will oversee all the department heads. As for shared services, he mentioned how the county saved $20 million by closing its jail and having corrections officers pick up prisoners in local towns.
“A Washington Township police officer doesn’t have to waste three to four hours driving a prisoner to county jail, and has more time on the street,” Sweeney noted. “We travel to the town, pick up the prisoner and take them to the Salem County Jail.
“My long-term goal is to keep pushing to consolidate services to reduce costs,” he added. “We will work with everyone to get things done.”
One challenge Sweeney will be focused on is the need for more energy, especially with the growth of AI and data centers that use enormous amounts of energy.
“New Jersey used to export energy to the grid,” he pointed out. “Now we buy off the grid. The goal is to make sure we produce enough energy.”
Sweeney anticipates the results of Camden-based Holtec International’s work on creating modular nuclear reactors that can power an industrial center for 40 years while buried safely underground.
