Commissioner Virginia E. "Ginny" Haines
Chairwoman: Parks and Recreation and Natural Lands
Term Expires: 12/31/2025
Phone: 732-929-2004
Email: CommissionerHaines@co.ocean.nj.us

Commissioner Virginia E. “Ginny” Haines, a lifelong resident of Ocean County, brings years of public service and leadership experience to the Board of Commissioners.

Commissioner Haines of Toms River, was first appointed to the board in January 2016. She was the second woman only to serve as a Freeholder, then Commissioner in Ocean County. She was sworn into her third three-year term on Jan. 4, 2023.

Commissioner Haines serves as Chairwoman to the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund Program. She serves as liaison to a host of county departments and agencies including Ocean County College, Ocean County Vocational Technical Schools, Ocean County Library, the Election Board and the Advisory Commission on the Status of Women.

As Chairwoman of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the County’s Natural Lands Program, Commissioner Haines oversees the preservation of thousands of acres of open space in the County. The Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation operates 27 public parks including 2 County-run Golf Courses.

The Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund Program has preserved more than 30,000 acres of farmland and environmentally sensitive areas throughout the County. Its largest purchase is the almost 8,000 acres known as the Forked River Mountains.
Commissioner Haines serves as the Board representative to the Southern New Jersey Commissioners Association. She served as association President in 2022.

Prior to joining the Board, Commissioner Haines served as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Lottery from July 1994 to February 2002.

Commissioner Haines also served as state 10th Legislative District Assemblywoman from 1992 to 1994. She served as the New Jersey General Assembly Assistant Majority Whip. She also served on the Toms River (formerly Dover Township) Township Committee in 2002. She was Clerk of the New Jersey Assembly and also served as a Legislative Aide for state Senator Robert Singer.

She served as Director of the Board in 2019 and Deputy Director in 2022.

Commissioner Haines has closely worked with the Jersey Shore Council of Boy Scouts, the Monmouth/Ocean Foodbank now known as Fulfill, the Ocean County Heart Association, and the United Way. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Toms River and the Toms River Student Loan Fund Board.

She also has served as a speaker and mentor for the Christine Todd Whitman Excellence in Public Service Series.

Among her many awards, she has been recognized with the Distinguished Citizen Award, and the Loyal Buffalo Award from the Jersey Shore Council of Boy Scouts, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ocean County Girls Scouts. She was named a Paul Harris Fellow, a Melvin Jones Fellow, New Jersey Law Enforcement Association Recognition, Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Citizen of the Year by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. Commissioner Haines also is an inductee of the Lakewood High School Hall of Fame and serves as the Regent for the Joshua Huddy Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Commissioner Haines is the National Republican Committeewoman – New Jersey since 2004 and is co-chair of the Republican National Committee Northeast Region since 2013. She also served as a delegate in 2008, 2012 and 2016 for the Republican National Convention and has represented the state on numerous committees.