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Bergen County, New Jersey

Statistics

Founded: 1683
Population: 884,118
Size: 247 sq mi (639 km²)
Population Density: 3,778/sq mi (1,459/km²)
County Seat: Hackensack
Geography: Borders New York City to the east across the Hudson River
Economy: Retail, white-collar business, New York City commuting

Voting Record

2006 - Senator:
Bob Menendez (D): 53.44%
Tom Kean, Jr. (R): 45.26%

2005 - Governor:
Jon Corzine (D): 55.59%
Doug Forrester (R): 42.19%

2004 - President:
John Kerry (D): 51.88%
George W Bush (R): 47.43%

2002 - Senator:
Frank Lautenberg (D): 54.85%
Doug Forrester (R): 48.02%

2001 - Governor:
Jim McGreevey (D): 55.09%
Bret Schundler (R): 43.69%

2000 - President:
Al Gore (D): 55.27%
George W Bush (R): 41.65%

2000 - Senator:
Bob Franks (R): 49.75%
Jon Corzine (D): 48.64%

1997 - Governor:
Christie Whitman (R): 53.4%
Jim McGreevey (D): 42.6%

1996 - President:
Bill Clinton (D): 52.7%
Bob Dole (R): 38.9%
Ross Perot (I): 7.0%

1996 - Senator:
Rob Torricelli (D): 53.6%
Dick Zimmer (R): 43.6%



For time immemorial, Bergen County was a stronghold of moderate Republicanism. That time, however, came to an end in the 1990s when the bloated machine of the New Jersey Republican Party, aided by the rightward move of the national Republican Party, collapsed in upon itself. The last time Bergen County voted for a Republican was in 2000, and narrowly. Nonetheless, the county remains an important bellwether for New Jersey, generally coming very close to the actual result statewide. It is also the most populous county, making appeasing its residents of particular interest to state politicians.

Bergen County consists overwhelming of suburban environments, though some areas of the county mimic urban slums, and the borough of Fort Lee, on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, has veritable skyscrapers. Many of the residents of Bergen County commute into New York City and are nearly as affected by New York politics as by local politics. Those who do not are generally among the poor, who, in Bergen County, are also overwhelmingly minority. Particularly concentrated poverty exists in the cities of Englewood and Hackensack, while most of the towns in the northern part of the county are extremely wealthy. Despite areas of poverty, Bergen County has the twenty-first highest per capita income in the country and is home to the ZIP code with the highest retail sales nationwide, 07652 (Paramus). Bergen County also has an exceptionally high Jewish population, particularly in Teaneck and Englewood, and the towns of Palisades Park and Cliffside Park are overwhelmingly Korean-American.

Bergen County is split across the 5th and 9th congressional districts. The 5th congressional district of northern Bergen County, stretches also across northern Passaic County and encompasses most of Sussex and Warren Counties, is moderately Republican and represented by Scott Garrett. The 9th congressional district, which also contains small portions of Hudson and Essex Counties, contains the bulk of Bergen County's population. It is heavily Democratic and represented by Steve Rothman.

Of interest as a sidenote are Bergen County's blue laws, the strictest remaining in the United States. All retail businesses that do not sell "essential items" must close on Sundays. While, like most other blue laws, this law was originally for religious purposes, today it is maintained because of extremely heavy traffic on Bergen County highways the rest of the week; the residents of the county want a day of the week for peace and quiet. Paramus, then, holds the title of most retail sales nationwide while only being open for business 6 days a week. Paramus also has even stricter blue laws within the borough that prevent any business at all that is not a retail business selling essentials from opening on Sundays.