Mayor Kevin Kane

 

Councilman Kevin Kane

 

 

A fifth generation Freehold native and a lifelong Borough resident, Kevin Kane has proven his commitment to his hometown through his many activities.  Kevin was elected to Council in 2001 and was reelected to his sixth consecutive term in November 2016. He was Council President (2007, 2013, 2019), Chairman of the Finance (since 2008) and Public Safety (since 2017) Committees and is the council liaison to the Freehold Board of Health and Lake Topanemus Commission. Kevin also was the Police Commissioner and a member of the Land Use Committee. In 2015, Kevin was selected by the Monmouth County Democrats as the candidate to run for the office of Monmouth County Clerk in the November 3, 2015 general election. Kevin was elected Mayor in 2019 and reelected in 2023.

 

Following in the footsteps of his father, former Borough Mayor and Councilman Roger J. Kane, Kevin raised his family here because he believes in Freehold and its future. He has served on the Borough Planning Board, the Borough Recreation Commission and was a fifteen-year volunteer member of the Freehold Fire Department. He has also served as the liaison to Code Enforcement, Downtown Freehold, the Freehold Borough Board of Education, the Freehold Municipal Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse, the Memorial Day Parade Committee, the Freehold Public Library Committee and the Neighborhood Pride Committee. Kevin also started and serves on the committee that brought back Olde Freehold Day, a fun family event that highlights all the assets of our community. Olde Freehold Day has quickly become a favorite of many Freehold residents, both current and former. Olde Freehold Day has been the centerpiece for many Freehold High School reunions, and in 2016 celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first Olde Freehold Day.

 

During his time as the Borough liaison, and through the combined efforts of the Borough of Freehold Governing Body and the Freehold Center Partnership Board of Directors, Downtown Freehold has become an attractive destination in Monmouth County for those looking for a great dining, entertainment, shopping and overall social experience. This downtown redevelopment has also been the blueprint for many towns throughout the state seeking to establish successful downtowns.  Freehold Borough benefitted from ongoing planning and investments by both the public and private sectors and in 2013 was designated as one of the “Great Downtowns in New Jersey” by the American Planning Association.

 

In 2011, Kevin Co-Chaired the State of the Schools Research Committee for the Freehold Borough School District’s Strategic Plan for 2011 - 2016. This committee was tasked with the responsibility of generating internal research and information needed for the State of the Schools and developing a report of these findings for submission to the Planning Council Conference for inclusion into the Strategic Plan.

 

In 2010, Kevin created the Freehold Boro March Madness basketball tournament as part of the fund-raising efforts for the World Changers project. Through the efforts of the tournament committee, it has expanded and now become a fund raiser for the Freehold Borough YMCA Community Center and is a favorite of many local business and community leaders, as well as their families and friends.

 

In 2008, Kevin introduced World Changers to Freehold Borough to help with rehabilitation of the housing stock in town for people who need work performed on their properties, but simply could not afford it. World Changers consists of middle to high school age youths from across the country, who with the aid of adult supervisors, volunteer their time one week in the summer to provide free labor to complete these housing rehabilitation projects. This program expanded during a three-year period to where it had completed work on over 30 homes in Freehold Borough ranging from full exterior painting, new or repaired porches and decks, complete roofing, and many other miscellaneous jobs. In 2013, World Changers committed over 600 people to come to New Jersey from all over the United States to help “Restore the Shore” in communities still trying to rebuild after the devastating destruction of Hurricane Sandy.

 

Kevin has continued to give back to the community through his involvement in youth and recreational sports. He has been a travel soccer coach, former Board member and former Chairman of the Advisory Committee with the Freehold Soccer League. He was a varsity soccer and basketball coach at St. Rose of Lima Grammar School. He was also past President of the Freehold Borough Basketball League and the Freehold Slo-Pitch Softball League.

 

Kevin has been an ambassador for Freehold since his youth representing the town in numerous sporting events. He was a two-time Freehold Borough Little League All-Star and a member of the 1968 team that played in the New Jersey State Finals. He was an original player in Freehold Pop Warner football and was a member of the 1969 team that played in Freehold Pop Warner’s first bowl game in Orlando, Florida. He was also an original player in the Freehold Soccer League and was a member of the 1970 team that represented Freehold and the Jersey Shore Soccer Association that played in Germany and Switzerland.

 

Kevin is a 1971 graduate of St. Rose of Lima Grammar School, a 1975 graduate of St. John Vianney High School, where he lettered in basketball and baseball, and a 1979 graduate of the University of Charleston (WV) where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and was a four-year starter in soccer.

 

In 2017, Kevin completed the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at Rutgers University Graduate School, and presented a capstone research project titled, "Participatory Budgeting: How to Enhance Civic Engagement and Build Public Trust in Government." While completing the MPA program, co-facilitated the implementation of a Participatory Budgeting (PB) program in Freehold Borough in 2017, thus becoming New Jersey's first municipality to introduce PB to its residents.

 

Kevin is currently serving as the Director of Community Development for the Township of Marlboro, NJ beginning in February 2019. The Community Development Department encompasses several interrelated Divisions including Engineering, Planning, Zoning, Construction Code Enforcement and Fire Prevention. The Director is responsible for managing overall daily operations which include processing of land use and permit applications and coordinating and enforcing code compliance. Responsibilities also include interfacing with the public while maintaining responsibility for operating budgets and capital programs and participating in the planning and design of projects.

 

Prior to accepting the position in Marlboro, Kevin served as the Assistant Director in the Office of Tax Abatement and Compliance for the City of Jersey City, NJ from February 2016 through January 2019. Along with the Director, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Office of Compliance to ensure adherence with all municipal ordinances, administrative codes and state statutes relating to tax abated development projects in Jersey City. The Compliance Office, reporting directly to the Business Administrator, was responsible for documenting all non-compliance issues and violations of the Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and Project Employment and Contracting Agreements (PECAs). Recommends to the Director any and all actions to be taken as a result of non-compliance on a specified project. The Office of Compliance also managed compliance for all public contracts through the Public Agency Compliance Officer (PACO). Prior to the position in Jersey City, Kevin served as the Vice President of Operations for 111 South Contractors, LLC for 17 years.

 

Kevin and his wife, the former Ellen Eckhardt, also a lifelong Borough resident and longtime registered nurse at CentraState Medical Center, have three children, Erin (a 2005 graduate of Rutgers University), Meghan (a 2008 graduate of Rutgers University), and Caitlin (a 2011 graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania). Kevin and Ellen also have two grandsons, Bobby and Anderson, and a granddaughter, Ellie.

 

Kevin’s son-in-law Terence Howard, also of Freehold Borough, served in the United States Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68), stationed in Pacific Northwest. In December 2013, Kevin was selected to participate in a Tiger Cruise that allowed family and friends to sail aboard the Nimitz at the conclusion of their nine-month deployment in the Persian Gulf. He boarded the ship in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and sailed with the entire crew, including the Strike Group 11 Air Wing, for one week to San Diego, California. Truly, a once in a lifetime experience!

 

E-mail: KKane@FreeholdBoro.org