For the first time in 28 years, Bergen County voters will pick a new surrogate. Bergen is New Jersey’s most populous county, and Republicans haven’t won a countywide race there since 2013. Retired Superior Court Judge Joseph Conte, a Franklin Lakes Borough Council member, wants to change that. He tells Bill how he’s running a campaign across a county that’s “almost like the entire state of New Jersey packed into one,” from Mahwah and Ramsey to Fort Lee, Hackensack and the Pascack Valley. Conte explains what the surrogate does and why it matters to families, and he gives his message to Bergen’s many independent voters. He also talks about what a “one-party county” has meant for residents, where he sees mismanagement, and what’s driving property taxes. Finally, he lays out what he’d change on day one, how his experience as a judge, mediator and public defender would shape the office, and how he’d make the process easier for grieving families.