Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski
Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski has been an advocate for parks, education, and community service for most of her life. Since her election to the Board in 2004, she has built on that commitment. While serving as Freeholder chairwoman in 2007, she promoted numerous initiatives for shared services to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of county services. Along with her colleagues on the Fiscal Affairs Committee, she ensures that Union County continues its high quality, cost effective service. She has served as the Freeholder liaison to the Human Services Advisory Council during a time of economic and social challenges. In response to the crisis, the Freeholder Board and county staff initiated the award-winning Code Blue program to house the homeless during severe weather, and approved one of the state’s first Homeless Prevention Trust Funds. A supporter of the arts, Freeholder Kowalski regularly attends concerts and art shows by Union County’s diverse community, including seniors, teens, children, and people of many ethnic backgrounds. She has served on the board of the Union County Center for the Performing Arts and works to promote the arts at every opportunity. Freeholder Kowalski has championed ballot initiatives to extend state funding for open space and recreation. The liaison to the Department of Parks and Community Renewal, she participates in the Adopt-a-Park and Adopt-a-Trail programs, as well as the annual BioBlitz programs, which evaluate the health of the county’s natural environment. A member of the Cranford River Committee, she regularly helps at river cleanups and other projects. Recently, Ms. Kowalski served on the Workforce Investment Board and the Raritan Valley Railroad Coalition. Additional commitments have been with the Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board, the Advisory Board on Education, Policy and Administrative Code Committee, the Economic Development Committee, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Committee on the Status of Libraries, and the Union County Animal Shelter Committee. Freeholder Kowalski grew up in Cranford and graduated with honors from Cranford High School. She has a Master's degree in Journalism from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Hunter College, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. As an editor and writer, Ms. Kowalski has worked for numerous publications, including New York Newsday, the Village Voice, and World Press Review. She is married and lives in Cranford. She is the second vice president for the Cranford Democratic Committee, a committee woman for Cranford’s District 21, and outreach coordinator for the Cranford Democratic Club.