David Ganz, former Bergen freeholder, dies at 73

David L. Ganz, a brainy, popular former six-term Bergen County Freeholder with a genuine love of government and the people, died on Tuesday after a long illness.   He was 73.

“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my friend and a longtime leader in Bergen County, David Ganz,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer.  “David dedicated decades of his life to serving our community, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”

Ganz was first elected in 2002 in an enormously competitive race to control county government.  Republicans had controlled the county executive post for sixteen years and the three-term incumbent was retiring.  Ganz, then the mayor of Fair Lawn, and Rutherford Mayor Bernadette McPherson ran with the Democratic candidate for county executive; Republicans ran State Sen. Henry P. McNamara (R-Wyckoff) for county executive with incumbent Anthony Cassano and former Fair Lawn Mayor Edward Trawinski for freeholder.

McNerney won the race with 51%, with McPherson and Ganz flipping two seats.  Ganz ousted Cassano by about 2,000 votes.

Three years later, McPherson and Ganz won by over 20,000 votes against Republicans Kelly Kirk and Michael Kaplan.  He was re-elected in 2008 by about 8,000 votes against Christopher Calabrese, by roughly 4,000 votes against East Rutherford Councilman Joel Brizzi in 2011, by around 9,000 votes against Robert Avery in 2014, and with a margin of over 30,000 votes against former Freeholder John Driscoll, Jr. in 2017.

Facing health issues, Ganz did not seek re-election in 2020.

He began his political career in local government in 1988 when he was appointed first alternate member of the Fair Lawn Zoning Board of Adjustment.   By 1993, he had become zoning board chairman.  He was a longtime Democratic county committeeman.

Ganz ran for the Fair Lawn Township Council in 1997 on a ticket with 78-year-old Florence Dobrow, a 22-year incumbent, after Democrat John Keith chose not to seek another term.

They faced 30-year-old school board president Russell Petrocelli and zoning board member Paul Pintel, a Korean War veteran.  At the time, Democrats had a 3-2 majority.  Petrocelli had been forced to resign his post at New Jersey Transit amid allegations that he misused airline vouchers.

In that race, Ganz defeated Pintel by about 1,200 votes.

Ganz became mayor in January 1998.

He coasted to re-election in 2001, running about 800 votes ahead of his running mate, Alan Caan; Caan won his seat by about 600 votes against his GOP opponent.

While Ganz won re-election to the freeholder board in 2005, he lost his bid for a third term on the Fair Lawn council on the same day; he ran roughly 1,100 votes behind Trawinski, and Republicans flipped two seats.

In 2013, Ganz announced that his 30-year-old son, Scott, an Army soldier who served in Afghanistan, had taken his own life.  He used his personal tragedy to raise awareness of issues facing soldiers returning from war.

“The sad fact is that a veteran commits suicide every 65 minutes, 22 veterans a day,” Ganz told his fellow freeholders.  “This is not something that this board can do something about.  But it is something that, as a matter of policy, we need to address with our own veterans with our own veterans, and it’s something the U.S. Army and Congress have to address.”

An attorney and, for most of his life, a numismatic expert, Ganz also took much pride in his service as a member of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee.

“David had an encyclopedic knowledge of government and New Jersey politics. He could quote statutes, recall budgets from memory, and go line-by-line through the most complicated financial documents—always with clarity and purpose. He was a passionate advocate for our veterans and a steady voice in our conversations around fiscal responsibility, public engagement, and transparency,” said Bergen County Executive James Tedesco, his former freeholder colleague and running mate.  “He also believed deeply in an approach to service rooted in mutual respect. David showed that people could disagree without being disagreeable—that bipartisanship, decency, and common ground still mattered in government. That example is more important now than ever.”

Bergen County Clerk John Hogan, who served on the freeholder board with Ganz, called him a “fair, decent, honest leader who always offered a helping hand.”

“He was one of those people that you will meet in your life and never forget,” said Hogan.

Bergen County Commissioner Thomas Sullivan said Ganz “was a real gentleman and was always generous with his wisdom.”

“David was truly dedicated to improving Bergen County for all residents,” he said.

Ganz is survived by his wife, Kathy, and other family members.

Funeral services will be at Robert Schoem’s Memorial Chapel in Paramus at 9:30 AM on Friday.  The service can be viewed livestream.