New Jersey › Union County › Union County Commissioner
6 candidates are tracked for Union County Commissioner on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Joseph C. Bodek, Lourdes Leon, Michele S. Delisfort, Cathy Jakositz, Christopher G. Bacey and Miguel A. Rodriguez. Candidate information follows official Union County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Three seats up for three-year terms. Democratic incumbents Joseph Bodek (Chairman), Lourdes Leon, and Michele Delisfort won renomination in the June 2, 2026 primary (Leon 35,021 votes/35.81%, Delisfort 31,773/32.49%, Bodek 30,451/31.14%), per the Union County Clerk's certified primary results. They face Republicans Cathy Jakositz (7,270 votes/35.08%), Christopher Bacey (6,719/32.42%), and Miguel Rodriguez (6,626/31.97%) in November, per the same results. Republicans have not won a Union County commissioner (formerly freeholder) seat since 1995, per New Jersey Globe.
Bodek, of Linden, is Chairman of the Union County Board of County Commissioners, elected to the board in 2023, per the county's official commissioner biography. He worked as a store manager for Meat City Companies, spent more than 30 years as clerk to the Union County Utilities Authority overseeing solid waste operations, and served more than a decade as City Clerk of Linden, per the same source. He began public service in 1981 as a Linden Board of Education member. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official roster and election filing is the only verifiable source for Joseph C. Bodek.
Leon, a lifelong Elizabeth resident born in Cuba who immigrated with her parents in 1971, was elected to the Union County Board of County Commissioners in 2020, becoming the first Hispanic woman elected to the board, per the county's official commissioner biography. She spent more than 27 years in the Elizabeth School District, starting as a teacher's aide and rising to Principal of the Donald Stewart Early Childhood Center, before retiring from education in 2013, per the same source. She holds a master's degree in educational administration from Kean University. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official roster and election filing is the only verifiable source for Lourdes Leon.
Delisfort, of Union Township, is a Union County Commissioner and President of the American Planning Association-New Jersey Chapter, with 30 years of experience in urban planning and redevelopment, per the county's official commissioner biography. She previously served as Mayor of Union Township, where she oversaw redevelopment investments and led the township's COVID-19 pandemic response, per the same source. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official roster and election filing is the only verifiable source for Michele S. Delisfort.
Jakositz, of Mountainside, is a former Mountainside Board of Education member. This is her second campaign for Union County Commissioner, after losing to the Democratic slate in 2023, per New Jersey Globe. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Cathy Jakositz.
Bacey, of Union Township, is a public relations specialist. This is his second bid for Union County Commissioner, after losing to the Democratic slate in 2025, per New Jersey Globe. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Christopher G. Bacey.
Rodriguez, of Elizabeth, is a member of the Union County Republican Committee running for county commissioner, per New Jersey Globe. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Miguel A. Rodriguez.
