MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Board of County Commissioners will convene for its annual reorganization meeting on Friday, January 2, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., when Commissioner Stephen H. Shaw is slated to succeed Tayfun Selen as director. Commissioner John Krickus will serve as deputy director in 2026.
Commissioners Douglas R. Cabana, Thomas J. Mastrangelo and Christine Myers, who were re-elected in November to additional three-year terms, will take their oaths of office. Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, who also was re-elected in November, will be sworn in to his fourth three-year term.
The meeting will be held on the fifth floor of the Administration and Records Building at 10 Court Street in Morristown and will also be accessible for viewing via Webex.
Commissioner Shaw, a lifelong resident of New Jersey, has served the past two years as commissioner deputy director. He is serving his third term on the board and was commissioner director for 2021.
About the Reelected Commissioners
Douglas R. Cabana is the longest-serving member of the Board of County Commissioners, having joined the board in April 1997, when it was still known as the Board of Chosen Freeholders. He has been elected by his colleagues to serve as director five times and deputy director four times. Cabana is a member of the budget committee, a voting member of the New Jersey Association of Counties and serves as liaison to the county’s Department of Information Technology, the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Morris County Park Commission.
Thomas J. Mastrangelo is serving his sixth, three-year term on the board, making him the second longest-serving member of the current commissioners. Mastrangelo, a lifelong New Jersey resident, was first elected in November 2010 and was selected by his colleagues to serve as director in 2013 and 2014. He is the board liaison to the Heritage Commission, the Office of Planning and Preservation, and the Economic Development Committee.
Christine Myers is serving her third term as a Morris County commissioner and was appointed to serve as director in 2024. During her first term, she led the adoption of the county’s strategic plan and debt reserve policy. In 2017, she was appointed regional advocate to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy by the Trump administration, where she addressed regulatory challenges facing thousands of business owners. Myers is liaison to the Capital Budget/Facilities Review Committee, the Economic Development Committee, the Department of Human Services, and the Improvement Authority.
Rounding out the seven-member Board of County Commissioners is Commissioner Deborah Smith.
Morris County’s seven-member Board of County Commissioners is elected at-large to serve staggered three-year terms. The board oversees policies for six county departments, including Employee Resources, Finance, Human Services, Law & Public Safety, Public Works, and Information Technology. Day-to-day operations are managed by County Administrator Deena Leary, with each commissioner acting as a liaison to specific departments and areas of government. The essential services provided by county government are those that either cannot appropriately be provided by the state or are beyond the scope or ability of local governments.
County government responsibilities are divided into two distinct types:
- functions the county must perform as mandated by the state
- permissive functions the county may carry out in compliance with state law
The mandatory areas of responsibility are:
- Court facilities (New Jersey State runs court operations)
- Law enforcement and the operation of a county jail
- General assistance or welfare
- Education
- Construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges
- Conducting elections
In addition to required services, Morris County government provides a variety of programs and services which benefit the entire county. County-level management and delivery of these services provides significant cost savings and efficiencies over duplicative services from municipality to municipality. This saves taxpayer dollars, while enhancing the quality of life for those living and working in the county.
These vital services include:
- Morris County Park System
- Morris County Library
- Training for police, fire and other emergency services personnel
- Solid waste management and recycling
- Mosquito Control
- Job training and re-training
- MAPS paratransit system, a transportation program for senior citizens and people with disabilities
- A flood mitigation program
- An Office of Veterans Services
- A nutrition program for senior citizens
