Atlantic County Executive

The County Executive of Atlantic County, New Jersey is the chief officer of the county's executive branch and manages the county business, including implementing policy, administering county services, and directing the executive staff. Executives have overseen the administration of county government since the county adopted the form in 1974. The executive offices are located in Atlantic City.

The executive is elected to a four-year term. As of 2017^[update] there were 180,123 registered voters in the county. Since its first county executive took office in 1975, three individuals have served as the county executive, two of whom have been elected to five consecutive terms of office.

As of 2018^[update], Atlantic County's executive is Republican Dennis Levinson, whose term of office ends December 31, 2019.

Starting in 1967, the county had been governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, all elected at large, having been reduced from a maximum of 35 members that had been reached in 1966, under a form in which each municipality in the county was represented by a freeholder. Under the pre-1967 system, each municipality had freeholders, but in a manner that gave disproportionate representation to smaller municipalities. Corbin City's 238 residents had two representatives, while Atlantic City, with more than 60,000 residents, had four freeholders.

In 1972, the state passed the Optional County Charter Law, which provided for four different manners in which a county could be governed, including by an executive, and administrator, a board president or a county supervisor.

The county established a Charter Study Commission in 1973, which recommended the changes that were ultimately accepted. In November 1974, Atlantic County voters changed the county governmental form under the Optional County Charter Law to the county executive form. The charter provided for an executive directly by the voters and a nine-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, responsible for legislation. The executive is elected to a four-year term and the freeholders are elected to staggered three-year terms, of which four are elected from the county on an at-large basis and five of the freeholders represent equally populated districts.