Politics in North Jersey can get messy. So this county board is imposing a dress code

NEWTON — The Sussex County Board of Commissioners is considering a formal dress code for its five members, mirroring the long-established requirements by which county employees must abide.

Introduced at Wednesday's meeting by Commissioner Director Jill Space, the measure was tabled for a vote until the next meeting when all members are present.

"I hope all members will be here then," said Deputy Director Chris Carney, noting the absence of Commissioner William Hayden .

Hayden, an employee with the state Department of Transportation, sometimes comes to commissioners' meetings directly from his job, which requires less formal attire. But Space didn't mention him or any other commissioner as the impetus for the proposed code.

In her remarks introducing the measure, she noted a dress code already applies to all county employees, requiring "appropriate" clothing at work. The code prohibits jeans and "dirty or torn" clothing as well as items such as hats, jackets and sweatshirts that include business advertising or other writing. Also banned are "transparent" clothing or clothes that show a "bare midriff," as well as body piercings.

Commissioners should also be dressed in "business attire," Space said on Wednesday.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Debra Card of Hardyston asked that the code be applicable when a commissioner "represents the county in any setting." Space and Carney said such wording would appear when the resolution comes to a full vote.

Hayden on the outs with fellow commissioners

Hayden, serving his first term as a commissioner, has been at odds with his colleagues on the all-Republican panel for months. The board censured him in February over statements Hayden made during his 2022 election campaign that he had served in the military and been wounded in action.

A search of military records, paid for by the county Republican Party, failed to produce a DD 214, the federal paperwork which documents the enlistment and discharge records of all military members. Hayden is currently serving a term that ends on Dec. 31, 2025.

He did not return a call seeking comment on Thursday.

More: Fire trucks gleam in Sussex County parade; see the full list of winners here

The censure vote also noted Hayden's absences from board meetings and instances when he left executive sessions early.

Much of Wednesday's meeting covered routine business, but the board did go into executive session to deal with an agenda that included payroll, the prosecutor's office and the former county jail.

The county is in the process of subdividing the jail and an adjacent five-story building from the rest of the county government complex in downtown Newton. The plan is to sell the property, likely at a public auction, for a redevelopment project.

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This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Politics in North Jersey can get messy. So this county board is imposing a dress code