County Manager Announces Retirement

Union County Manager George Devanney announced his retirement, effective Aug. 1, in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

Devanney, a Berkeley Heights resident, said that new state rules regarding pensions and benefits for public employees impacted his decision to retire. A 27-year public employee, he said that he had been considering retirement for a year.

“I have been privileged for the past three decades to serve the residents of Union County and the State of New Jersey,” Devanney said in a prepared statement. “I would like to thank the our residents, the freeholders and the many public officials and private partners who I’ve worked with over the years in making Union County on of the greatest places to raise a family and work.”

Devanney has served as county manager since 2002, following a four-year stint as deputy county manager and county economic development director. The nephew of powerful state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth), Devanney has also been the executive director of the state Democratic Party, a special assistant to the state Senate president, director of policy and planning for Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage and chief legislative aide for his uncle and other legislators in the 20th district, which is located in eastern Union County. He held the state Democratic slot during Lesniak’s tenure as state Democratic chairman in the early 1990s and Bollwage is a Lesniak ally.

Lesniak has been instrumental in the county Democratic Party's dominance of county government elections since the mid 1990s. Devanney started working for the county government since the Democratic Party took total control of the freeholder board in 1998.

Devanney has been a magnet for controversy during his tenure as county manager, with Republican opponents and Tina Renna, the president of the Union County Watchdog Association criticizing his family ties to Lesniak, the most powerful Democrat in the county. Renna has lampooned Devanney by placing his face in the middle of the county seal on her website.

Renna has also criticized Devanney for his ties to the Love, Hope, Strength Foundation, where he is a board member, and their involvement in the annual MusicFest concert. Devanney became involved with the foundation following a cancer scare. His involvement has included participating on foundation sponsored treks to Mount Everest.

According to the press release issued by the county communications office, Devanney will also work with his wife, former Berkeley Heights Township Administrator Angie Devanney in her private consulting firm, Keywood Strategies.

In the press release, Devanney cited the county’s bond rating, the creation a high debt to assessed value ratio, linking merit pay increases to performance indicator, partnering with the American Automobile Association on a child safety seat program, the creation of a shared services program, the county’s open space preservation program and homeland security as his top accomplishments in office.

The press release indicated that the county freeholder board will meet soon to discuss the vacancy. In the release, Freeholder Vice Chairman Alexander Mirabella said the board would prefer to fill the job internally. Deputy County Manager M. Elizabeth Genievich will be retiring on Feb. 2, 2012 and the press release said she’ll assist with the transition.

“George’s management has proven to be top-notch,” Freeholder Chairwoman Deborah Scanlon said.  “He has implemented the policies of the Board with the utmost professionalism, and was not afraid to make tough decisions. He had the foresight to initiate innovative and meaningful projects long before they were popular elsewhere. His leadership and vision will be missed.  On behalf of the entire Board of Chosen Freeholders and County Government, we wish him much success in all of his future endeavors.”