Harrison Town Hall entrance. Photo: DailyHarrison.com

Harrison is governed under the Town form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a mayor and Town Council comprising eight council members. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Town Council consists of eight members elected to serve four-year terms on a staggered basis.

The town is divided into four electoral wards, with each ward represented by two council members, with a total of eight council members on the Town Council. Each ward is divided into three districts (except for the 1st Ward, which has two districts), for a total of 11 electoral districts.

The head of the government is the mayor. The mayor chairs the Town Council and heads the municipal government. The Mayor may both vote on legislation before the Council and veto ordinances. The Mayor's veto can be overruled by 3/4 of the Town Council voting to overrule the veto.

Town Council meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm (except in July and August, when no meetings are held, at the call of the chairman), in Council Chambers, which is located on the second floor of the Town Hall at 318 Harrison Avenue. Public Caucus Meetings are held at 6:30 pm in Room 303.

Harrison had one of the longest-serving mayors in American history, Frank E. Rodgers, who was first elected in 1946, defeating incumbent Frederick J. Gassert who had served for sixteen years, and served for 48 years, from 1947 to 1995, being elected to 24 two-year terms. He also served one term in the New Jersey State Senate, from 1979 to 1983.

Local representation

Mayor Raymond J. McDonough

1st Ward: Jesus Huaranga and Caroline Mandaglio
2nd Ward: Anselmo Milan and Victor Villalta
3rd Ward: Laurence Bennett and Francisco Nascimento
4th Ward: James Doran and Michael Dolaghan

Federal, state and county representation

Harrison is in the 13th Congressional district. New Jersey's Thirteenth Congressional District is represented by Albio Sires (D, West New York). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

Harrison is in the The 32nd District of the New Jersey Legislature represented in the State Senate by Nicholas Sacco (D, North Bergen) and in the General Assembly by Angelica M. Jimenez (D, West New York) and Vincent Prieto (D, Secaucus).

The Hudson County Executive, elected at-large, is Thomas A. DeGise. Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders District 9, comprising the West Hudson towns of Kearny, Harrison, and East Newark and most of Secaucus, is represented by Albert Cifelli.

Via: Wikipedia | Photos: DailyHarrison.com