Dan Benson for Mercer County Freeholder

Background:

A lifelong Mercer County resident, Dan has led the way for positive change for seniors and hardworking families.

At age 25, Dan became the youngest elected Councilman in Hamilton's history and on his first day in office he was chosen by his fellow members of Council as President, a post he held for two years.

In 2005, Dan ran for the state legislature and was a DFA endorsed candidate. Although he was unsuccessful in his bid, his running mate Linda Greenstein was re-elected strongly.

In 2008, Dan was chosen to fill a vacancy on the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders. The Board is the legislative branch of County Government. He will be on the ballot this November for a one-year unexpired term and if successful will run again the following year for a full three-year term.

Professionally, Dan has worked for the past ten years as a policy expert in the Energy and Telecommunications fields.

Dan received his Bachelors in Physics and Government from Georgetown University and a Masters in Public Policy from Rutgers University.

Goals:

I am running to serve our community with a commitment to fairness and the shared values within our community. If elected, my goals in office will be to continue the fight to improve our communities' quality of life regardless of where someone lives in our community or what their economic background may be.

Issues:

1. Improving quality of life by preserving open space and enhancing recreational opportunities
2. Seeking sustainable economic development to create jobs and stabilize property taxes
3. Assist residents affected during these difficult economic times through targeted county programs

Grassroots Support:

Mercer County is truly a door-to-door, person-to-person community. All elections are won through a strong grassroots effort, both in gaining volunteers, fundraising and in convincing voters of our message. I will be working with volunteers this election to knock on thousands of doors asking for their vote as part of a coordinated campaign with our Presidential Candidate, Senator Lautenberg, and Congressman Rush Holt and Congressional Candidate Josh Zeitz. We will also have an aggressive get out the vote operation to help turn out voters and magnify their voices on issues that are of greatest interest to them.

DFA Values:

As a Councilman, Dan

• Championed open government by banning nepotism in hiring, pay-to-play in contracting, and requiring developers to disclose political contributions;

• Improved road safety by reducing speed limits, banning trucks on local roads, and pushing for speed humps and other needed infrastructure improvements;

• Preserved hundreds of acres of precious open space such as Ellis and Lengyen Farms and the Braghelli Tract, which significantly expanded Hamilton's Veterans Park;

• Adopted an open space and recreation plan that increased the state and local funding available for these projects;

• Protected our children by improving school zone traffic safety and establishing pedophile-free zones near parks and schools;

• Increased the police force helping make Hamilton one of the country's safest communities;

• Provided tax abatements for residents who made improvements to their homes;

• Expanded the senior center by adding more space, programming and extended hours; and

• Protected families from pesticide spraying by requiring increased notifications in parks.

As a Freeholder, Dan will work to ensure that we protect social services in these economic hard times. He will work with the Democratic county administration to encourage sustainable economic development that will create jobs and stabilize taxes. Dan will advocate for a voter verified paper backup to the current electronic voting machines.