Bernadette P. McPherson was elected to the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 2002. Freeholder McPherson served as the Board’s Freeholder Chairwoman through the 2006 term. She currently chairs the following Freeholder Committees: Law and Public Safety, and Organization and Internal Affairs. Freeholder McPherson is also a member of the Budget and Finance, Cultural and Historic Affairs, Veterans Liaison, and New Jersey Legislature committees.

Freeholder McPherson has been dedicated to her community. In 1999, she was elected Councilwoman in the Borough of Rutherford. She served as the first woman Fire Department Liaison. She has served as Mayor since January 2000.

As Vice-Chairperson to the Coalition for Public Health and Safety, a bipartisan group of South Bergen towns, she has helped to address health and quality of life issues in this region impacted by Teterboro Airport.

Freeholder McPherson graduated Magna Cum Laude from LaSalle University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and English in 1983. She attended both Seton Hall Law School and Temple University School of Law where she earned her J.D. in 1986.

Freeholder McPherson has lived in Rutherford since 1987 with her husband David, an attorney, and their four children.