William O'Dea (1959-)

Bill O'Dea (born February 20, 1959) is an American politician, urban economic development consultant and author. A native of Jersey City, New Jersey, he has served on Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders since 1997.

Background
O'Dea is a native of Jersey City, born February 20, 1959 in St. Joseph's Parish, the son of William Patrick O'Dea Senior and Blanche (Zakzrewski) O'Dea. He moved to the West Side as a young boy. He attended St. Aloysius elementary school and St. Peter's Preparatory School. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. degree from St. John’s University (1981). and B.S. in criminal justice, Seton Hall Law School (1982).

O’Dea has been Deputy Executive Director of the Elizabeth Development Company since 1995, where worked as project manager (1993—1994) and Urban Enterprise Zone director (1994—1995). Under his direction, the National Association of State Development Agencies named EDC as the #1 urban enterprise zone programs in America in 1998.

O’Dea was named to “Who’s Who in International Business” in 2005 and to Who's Who in America in 2006.

Political career
O'Dea, at 26, become the youngest elected official of Jersey City. He served two consecutive terms, between 1985 and 1993, as a Jersey City Councilman, initially responsible for finding funds to remediate the PJP Landfill.

Since 1997 O'Dea represents District 2 on the Hudson County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders, one of nine members who serve in a legislative role administering all county business. District 2 includes the West Side and parts of the Marion Section and Journal Square, all in Jersey City.

O'Dea was elected Freeholder by one vote in a hotly contested election amongst county committee people to fill the unexpired term of Freeholder Henry Gallo, who died unexpectedly in September 1997. In November 1998, O'Dea defended his seat for the remaining one year of the term, and was re-elected in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008. O'Dea's initial three-year term of office expired on December 31, 2011. O'Dea was elected Chair of the Board of Freeholders on January 4, 2011. In 2012 the Hudson Reporter named him #12 in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people. He was re-elected November 4, 2014 in an uncontested race.

In his fifth full term, Freeholder O'Dea served as Chairman of the County Banking Committee and Member of the following Committees: Contracts Review; Environment, Health and Human Services; Task Force on Homeless; and Public Resources. He also serves as the Freeholder Board's representative to the Hudson County Schools of Technology Board of School Estimate, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, the Workforce Investment Board and the County Planning Board.

Author
O’Dea wrote The Legacy of Haguesville, published in 2013. The book is a satirical look at local government, politics and the machinations of a campaign in a mythical election for a Congressional seat in New Jersey in 2002. It draws from ‘historical fiction’ from the late 1960s and early 1970s taken from the exploits of the ‘Hudson County Political Machine’; an organization that in its heyday was run by William Hague. Other earlier works include screenplays for DVD and video called A Clown in Babylon and television sitcom adapted for the stage called Therapy. and The Pitts.

Near collision incident
On November 30, 2017 O'Dea had a near collision with another motorist in Jersey City. He told the other motorist to pull over. According the driver of the other car, O'Dea flashed a badge at him, something that he denies doing. A video of the confrontation was taken by the other motorist. While the badge is not visible in the video, the other driver asks O'Dea if he is a cop. O'Dea responded to the question, "No, but they work for me. I'm in charge of the Sheriff's Department." A sheriff's officer arrived afterwards but did not issue summons to either driver.