Freeholder David L. Ganz
Recent photos of Freeholder Ganz in action
DAVID L. GANZ, first elected Freeholder in 2002 for the 2003-2005 term, is currently serving his third term (2009-2011), which he won in November, 2008. He has served two terms as vice chairman (20052006) and has chaired the budget committee an unprecedented seven consecutive years. An accomplished lawyer, a dynamic author and speaker, he previously served as the 29th Mayor of the Borough of Fair Lawn, New Jersey (the 4th largest municipality in Bergen County) from 1999-2005 (http://www.fairlawn.org/). He is also managing partner and principal litigator in the law firm of Ganz & Sivin, L.L.P. of Fair Lawn, N.J. and Ganz & Hollinger, P.C. in New York City, and has a law practice that is focused on litigation, guardianship, real estate, land use, and general corporate work in New York and New Jersey.
During his five years on the Freeholder board, he lists several accomplishments:
- Chairman of the Budget & Finance Committee. As chair, led the committee to cut at least ($500,000 or more annually) to County Budget (2003,2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) from County Executive's Budget recommendations.
- Served as principal sponsor of the voter's referendum to increase the voluntary County open space tax from a half mil to one mil per $100 of assessed valuation, raising $15 million annually for open space acquisition and use, and author of the resolution-ordinance implementing the new program including an increase to 30% of the municipal recreational component.
- Introduced County drug prescription card program county-wide, offering discounts on prescription drugs to seniors, children and all other County residents, offering a savings averaging 7-1/2% to as high as 41% off of the regular prescription price, discount good at 55,000 pharmacies nationwide. As of the end of March of 2009 (the Bergen Wellness programTM and its predecessor GS Pops prescription drug plan) over 150,200 prescriptions have been filled using the discount programs, with a total savings of more than $2.8 million.
- Introduced "Reverse 911" to Bergen County as already used in Borough of Fair Lawn (countywide security program).
- Introduced "Cafeteria plan" tax savings for Bergen County employees and taxpayers, offering ability of County employees to pay for child care, medical and dental care and related health care services with pre-taxable funds, saving the County 7.65% of all sums deferred.
- Introduced "Transit Check" plan for Bergen County Employees, offering ability to County employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for some permitted commuting costs, saving the County 7.65% of all sums so utilized and giving a huge tax benefit to County employees
- Wrote the resolution calling on then -President Bush to release strategic petroleum (oil) reserves to help lower gas prices at the pump.
- Wrote the resolution to prohibit Members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders from receiving severance packages, "golden parachutes", accumulated vacation pay and sick time, and for other purposes.
- Wrote the resolution calling on County golf courses to have their flags marked to show the pin's position on the green (front, middle, back) to speed play and increase rate of accuracy for the County's 80,000 golfers.
- Wrote the resolution from the Board of Chosen Freeholders backing Congressional issue of a circulating coin commemorating the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Created the first intern program for freeholders and executive branch utilizing summer employees from the matching funds of Mt. Olive Baptist Church.
- Expanded intern program in executive and legislative branches of County government.
- Wrote the Ordinance to ban motorized scooters on County roads as a safety hazard to drivers and children.
- Wrote the resolution calling for support of our troops and placing of yellow ribbons on County offices until the troops are brought safely home.
- Helped Modernize the Freeholder meetings by changing the bylaws to allow action votes at work sessions as well as full meetings.
- Wrote the COPCARS program that allows municipalities to lease-purchase police cars by bonding, rather than paying cash outright, to reflect their three-year lifetime and save municipal tax dollars.
- Co-sponsored the SAVEBUCS program that allows municipalities to bond capital items
cooperatively to save money and minimize costs
- Wrote the law creating Bergen County's first public advocate for land use.
- Wrote the ethics law requiring disclosure of campaign contributions to Freeholders, Sheriff, County Executive, Clerk and Surrogate
- Wrote Bergen Munibanc ordinance that allows all 70 municipalities to bond capital items such as police cars while taking advantage of the County's AAA bond rating.
- Authored the Bergen County SaVverS program (Seniors and Veterans, Volunteers, Emergency Responders Savings) which offers discounts to qualified county residents at local businesses.
Background
An award-winning writer on a variety of topics, Freeholder Ganz has lectured at the Numismatic-Philatelic Institute at Adelphi University, Garden City, New York, appeared on "The Joe Franklin Show", Boston's "The Good Day" show, been interviewed by many cable TV. and local news shows, and done Continuing Legal Education lectures and speaking engagements on an ongoing basis on topics that range from Z to A, zoning law to African literature.
A prolific author in a variety of different fields, his books include A Critical Guide to Anthologies of African Literature (African Studies Ass'n, 1973)
(http://www.africanstudies.org/), which nearly 36 years after publication is still considered the definitive guide to anthologies of African Literature and is found in most university research libraries. He also authored 14 Bits: A Legal & Legislative History of 31 USC §§324d-i (1976), The World of Coins & Coin Collecting (first published in 1980, 3d revised edition, 1998), Planning Your Rare Coin Retirement (Bonus Books, 1998), The 90 Second Lawyer (Wiley, 1996) (http://www.wiley.com/), The 90 Second Lawyer Guide to Buying Real Estate (Wiley, 1997), How to get an Instant Mortgage (Wiley, 1997), The Official Guide to Commemorative Coins (Bonus, 1999), The Official Guidebook to America's State Quarters, a Random House Fall, 2000 mass market paperback that has sold over 30,000 copies. It went back to press for reissue in early 2002. A second edition was published in October, 2008. He also authored in 2008 The Smithsonian Guide to coin collecting (Harper Collins, 2008), given an award of best "American coin" book by Numismatic Literary Guild. (http://www.americasstatequarters.com/). He is also the author of a number of law review articles, and book chapters in important works of real estate, and other areas.
He is the author of a number of academic law review articles, and book chapters in important works of real estate, and other areas.
These include: "Foreclosure" in MCGRAW HILL REAL ESTATE HANDBOOK 563-582 (1993); "Partition" ch. 111 in N.Y. REAL ESTATE GUIDE (5 vols.) Matthew Bender, 1992. "The U.N. and the Law of the Sea", 26 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 1-53 (1977) (http://www3.oup.co.uk/iclqaj/), "Toward a Revision of the Minting & Coinage Law of the United States", 26 Cleveland State Law Review 177-257 (1977), "Probative Value of Currently Dating for Income in Respect of a Decedent", 51 N.Y.S. Bar Journal 487-491 (1978). More recently, his publications include "Valuation of Coin Collection", 5 Proof of Facts 3rd 577-655 (1989), "Legal Ethics: When A Lawyer's Obligation Begins (and Ends)", 125 N.J. Law J. 1742 (June 28, 1990), reprinted in Lawyer's Liability Rev. Q.J. 3-6 (April, 1991), and an interesting newspaper article, "Drop dollar bills; we need $1 coins", USA Today, May 23, 1990, p. 10A (Guest Columnist, "Face-Off"). He previously edited a book on America's Coinage Laws (1792-1894) (Bowers & Merena, 1991). In April, 2007, Thompson-West Publishing issued a 300 page volume "Proof of Value of Coin Collection", part of the "Proof of Facts" series vol. 95). He recently wrote "Wrongful death claims against Emergency Service workers", volume 101 of American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, 3d series (2008), pages 1-283.
A graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (Class of 1973) (http://www.georgetown.edu/) where he followed President Bill Clinton by five years, he took a law degree at St John's University Law School (http://www.law.stjohns.edu/) and did post-graduate legal studies in the masters of law program at New York University. He also studied international law at Temple University (Philadelphia) Law School in Rome, Italy, while working for the coins and medals office of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, (http://www.fao.org/). In 1994, he was awarded the Order of St. Agatha (Commander) by the Republic of San Marino. (http://www.omniway.sm/).
He has been asked to testify before the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and other subcommittees of the House Banking committee on more than a dozen occasions since 1974, most recently in September 2000 (coinage redesign); in July 1995, he strongly advocated circulating commemorative coinage and is widely credited as being the moving force behind America's state quarters, which to date have returned over $5-billion to the federal Treasury. Then-US Mint director Philip N. Diehl wrote in 1998, "From my vantage point, the lion's share of the credit for making the 50 State program a reality goes to David Ganz, for his persistence as an advocate..."
Mint director Jay Johnson refers to Ganz as the "father of the 50 state quarter program". The program has returned over $5-billion to the American taxpayer since its inception which has been used to lower the interest paid on the national debt.
He is qualified in the first panel of certified arbitrators for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and New Jersey, and is an arbitrator and mediator in the Superior Court program in Bergen County, New Jersey. In 1996, he became one of only 71 certified mediators of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey mediation program and was recertified in January, 2002.
Widely respected by his peers, he is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory with an a-v rating (highest rating), and his accomplishments are listed Who's Who of American Law, and other Who's Who publications. He is listed in Who's Who in America (Millennium edition, 2000) and subsequent years and is currently (2009) rated on www.Avvo.com as 10.0/10, "superb".
He served as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for Fair Lawn, N.J., appointed by the Mayor and Council from 1988-1997, and as Chairman of the Zoning Board from 1993-96 for an unprecedented four consecutive terms. In 1997, he was elected to a four year tem on the Borough Council (1998-2001). During that time he wrote the first Public Advocate Ordinance in Bergen County, designed to provide representation for consumers, homeowners and tenants before the planning and zoning boards and worked hard to restore the Borough infrastructure.
He became Fair Lawn's 29th Mayor in January, 1999, at the start of its 75th anniversary jubilee year, and was re-elected to successive one year terms. He took the oath of office as Mayor for the seventh time and final time on January 5, 2005. Reelected to the Borough Council on November 6, 2001 for a four year term with 58.4% of the vote, he is the first person in more than quarter century to serve more than three successive terms.
In 2002, he became Attorney to the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Borough of Paramus and served until his installation as Freeholder in January, 2003. He has since served as Rent Leveling Board attorney for the City of Hoboken as well as special counsel to the City of Hoboken.
In his spare time, he is a coin collector. A life fellow (one of 200 voting members) of the American Numismatic Society, he was appointed by President Nixon to the 1974 Annual Assay Commission, the oldest continually functioning committee in the federal government (dating to the founding of the Mint in 1792). He served from 1985-1995 as an elected member of the Board of Governors of the American Numismatic Association, the largest educational non-profit organization of collectors in the world, and the only hobby organization chartered by the Congress of the United States. (http://www.money.org/) He became the organization's 48th president in July, 1993, serving until August, 1995.
In December, 1993, Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen appointed him a charter member of the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (http://www.cccaconline.org/). He was reappointed in 1995 for a second one year term, leaving office in February, 1996. As a CCCAC member, he was the initial advocate for circulating commemorative coinage and fought to include such a plea in the CCCAC's first two reports to Congress. He chaired the World Mint Council in 1994 and 1995 at its meetings held in conjunction with the American Numismatic Association annual convention. In 1995, more than 24 nations ministers attended Council meetings in Anaheim. Freeholder Ganz addressed the nations in consecutive speeches in French, German, Russian, Spanish and English. He is fluent in Spanish after having lived for two summers as an exchange student in Mexico more than 40 years ago.
He has served as a consultant to the Canadian Olympic Coin Program (1973-76) and was largely responsible for proposing that Canada issue a gold commemorative, the Moscow Olympic Coin Program (1976-80), for Occidental Petroleum and Lazard Freres in their 1981-2 Olympic Coin program effort, the 1985-6 Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration (where his proposal for a low-priced copper-nickel commemorative went on to become the best-selling non-circulating commemorative coin of all time), and many others. His legislative expertise has been tapped by Olin Brass, Memorial Mission Hospital (Asheville, N.C.) (http://www.msj.org/) for a Congressional Gold medal honoring Billy & Ruth Graham, The Platinum Guild, the Dutch Mint, the Portuguese State Mint, and others, on coin and related matters over the course of the past 30 years.
He has three adult children; Scott is presently in the military; Elyse and Pam are both graduates (2009) of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. As Chairman of the Board of Estimate of Bergen County Community College, Freeholder Ganz appreciates the value Bergen County gives its students. He and his wife the former Kathleen Gotsh, live in Fair Lawn with their four cats, Mimi, Bizi, Habibi, and Mistletoe.