Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes Announces Bid for Fourth Term

Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes will seek a fourth term in office, Hughes announced this week.

Hughes cited planning for a new airport terminal and continuing to create job opportunities for county residents as reasons he’s seeking another 4-year term in November.

“I’ve been blessed by the opportunity to lead Mercer County through lean times and robust times,” Hughes said during his annual State of the County Address. “It is my goal into 2015 and beyond to build on our success.”

He delivered the address to an audience of more than 500 business and government leaders at a luncheon sponsored by the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce at the Hyatt Regency Princeton.

He said successes include the “monumental” turnaround at Trenton-Mercer Airport, where Frontier Airlines has experienced rapid growth since it began offering low-fare commercial service just over two years ago.

The county’s financial investment of about $7 million for terminal improvements and parking lots has been completely recouped through airport revenue, and future revenue can be invested into further improvements, he said, making this the right time to “move forward with the planning for a brand new passenger terminal” to replace Mercer’s 48-year-old facility.

“I want to ensure that our airport is prepared to take advantage of future opportunities and the economic impact that could result,” he said. “The return on investment for our region will be huge.”

Hughes said jobs remain a “prime concern” throughout the county, and he announced a new program aimed at providing job opportunities for disadvantaged youth. The program, Youth Career Connection, is designed to prepare young adults to enter the workforce, with training provided by the county’s One-Stop Career Center followed by paid internships with participating employers.

“We need to make sure that our teenagers and young adults are given the opportunity to begin their first steps toward a productive future,” Hughes said. “Nothing better ensures this than a job.”

Hughes asked business leaders in attendance to partner with him by creating summer job opportunities. The county then will offer qualified candidates to help fill those job openings, he said.

“Your investment in our youth will put all of us on the path to a brighter economic future,” Hughes said.

Hughes said spending on travel and tourism in the county has increased for the fourth year in a row, and the value of real estate is expected to increase this year after six years on the decline.

He also touted his administration’s fiscal discipline, noting county government has stayed within the lowered state budget cap, retained its bond rating at AA+ and made every pension payment.

“While the state once again faces a budgetary nightmare and an ongoing pension crisis, Moody’s Financial Service says it is bullish on Mercer County,” Hughes said. “And all of us can take pride in that.”

Hughes’ speech was attended by many elected officials and other dignitaries, including U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, State Assemblymen Reed Gusciora and Dan Benson, Mercer County Freeholder Board Chairman Samuel Frisby Sr. and Freeholders Ann Cannon, Anthony Carabelli and John Cimino, Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler, Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami- Covello and Deputy Clerk Walker Worthy, Mercer County Surrogate Diane Gerofsky, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini Jr., Mercer County Community College President Patricia Donahue, East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov, Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann, Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede, Lawrence Mayor Cathleen Lewis and West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.