Born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey on June 6, 1946,[1] Haines graduated from Lakewood High School in 1964 and attended Ocean County College. She served on the Dover Township Municipal Utilities Authority and was the Clerk of the New Jersey General Assembly from May 1987 to January 1990.[2]
Elected office
A resident of Toms River (then Dover Township), Haines and her Republican running mates in the 1991 general election – David W. Wolfe for the second assembly seat and Andrew R. Ciesla for the State Senate – were elected to office in the 10th Legislative District, covering portions of both Monmouth County and Ocean County.[3] The slate of Ciesla, Haines and Wolfe were all re-elected to office in November 1993.[4]
Haines resigned from office on June 30, 1994, after Governor of New Jersey Christine Whitman nominated her to become executive director of the New Jersey Lottery to succeed Frank M. Pelly.[5] She held the position until February 2002. James W. Holzapfel was appointed to fill the assembly seat vacated by Haines, taking office on August 15, 1994, before winning a November 1994 special election to serve the balance of Haines' term of office.[6]
The Ocean County Republican committee selected Haines to fill the freeholder seat expiring in December 2016 that had been held by James F. Lacey until he resigned from office on December 31, 2015. On January 27, 2016, Haines was sworn into office on the Ocean County Board of chosen freeholders, making her the second woman – Hazel Gluck was the first – to serve as a freeholder since the governing body of Ocean County was established in 1850.[7] She was appointed to serve as chairwoman of Human Services and as the liaison to Social Services.[8] She was reelected in November 2016 and November 2019.[9][10]
Party offices
Haines has served as the New Jersey National Committeewoman for the Republican Party since June 2004[11] and was elected as the Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee Northeast Region in 2013. At the national party level, she has served as a member of the Ethics Committee, the Rules Committee and the Site-Selection Committee.[12] She was chosen as a delegate to the 2008 and 2012 Republican National Convention.[8]
^Staff. "Haines picked to head lottery", Asbury Park Press, May 19, 1994. Accessed August 30, 2016. "Elected to two-year Assembly term in 1991; re-elected in 1993. Served as Assembly clerk from 1987 to 1990. Municipal positions: Member of the Dover Township Municipal Utilities Authority since 1987; authority chairwoman since 1991. Education: Graduated from Lakewood High School in 1964; attended Ocean County College."
^Larsen, Erik. "Haines appointed Ocean County freeholder", Asbury Park Press, January 26, 2016. Accessed August 30, 2016. "Ocean County Freeholder-designate Virginia 'Ginny' Haines is surrounded by supporters and county Republican leaders following her appointment to the county's governing body on Tuesday night. Haines, 69, of Toms River, becomes only the second woman to serve on the Ocean County freeholder board since 1850. The first was Hazel Gluck who stepped down in 1979."
