Posted on January 5, 2016 at 10:51 AM by Victoria Mulherin
Meet Burlington County’s New Freeholders, Ryan Peters and Kate Gibbs!
Burlington County welcomes Ryan Peters and Kate Gibbs to the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Peters, of Hainesport Township, and Gibbs, of Lumberton Township, were sworn in last night at the Annual Freeholders’ Organization Meeting. During the meeting, the freeholders elected Bruce Garganio to service as Freeholder Director and Kate Gibbs to service as Freeholder Deputy Director. The Board also set the meeting schedule for the coming year and adopted the rules of the Board for 2016.
Gibbs, 29, and Peters, 33, had not previously held elected office. Upon her swearing in, Gibbs has officially become the youngest female Freeholder serving in the State of New Jersey. With the addition of Gibbs and Peters, Burlington County now boasts the youngest Freeholder Board in the State. Freeholder Director Garganio heralded his new colleagues as “a new generation of Republican leadership here in Burlington County.”
“While this is an exciting first for both of us, Kate and I understand that tonight is not really about us, but about the job you all sent us here to do,” said Freeholder Peters, “We ran on a promise to be different, on the idea that our youth and experience outside of government would allow us to make government work better and to do so with less. That is what we intend to do.”
Gibbs, who previously served on the Board of Trustees for Rowan College at Burlington County, stressed the importance of workforce development and pledged to expand programs for jobseekers with an emphasis on training for young women. “I was thrilled to see the first class of thirty local women graduate from the County’s new Women in Sustainable Employment program this past fall. Having completed a free 40 hour training course in nontraditional employment opportunities available in energy and construction industries, those who graduated are now prepared to meet the needs of our local employers and are well on their way to successful careers. Look for many more of these success stories in 2016.”
Peters, who saw multiple combat deployments as a Navy SEAL, addressed the need for advancements in providing services to a new generation of veterans: “I will work every day to protect our Joint Base and to make sure that every Burlington County resident who has served our nation in uniform receives the benefits and assistance that they have earned. As more and more of us return from active duty deployments around the world today, the face of veteran’s services is changing and we must adapt to meet these changes. My pledge tonight is that we will.”