Hudson County Correctional Facility Director Ron Edwards has announced that he’ll be retiring at the end of the year via his LinkedIn page.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I will be retiring at year’s end. I have served the County of Hudson for 29 years. During this time, I consider myself to be the luckiest man, and serving as the leader of the Hudson County Jail has indeed been an honor. To all of the women and men that work at the Jail, I salute you and thank you for helping me; you indeed are my family,” he wrote.
“I will miss you all terribly. I wish you all well and pray for your successes. Finally, I will never forget you as part of my organizational family to all those contractors who partnered with me and taught me many valuable lessons. Without everyone’s guidance and support, we couldn’t have completed our mission.”
Edwards was appointed by the then-board of chosen freeholders back in August 2017 in light of the county investigating two recent inmate deaths.
His tenure saw the county terminate two agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): the 287g arrangement in 2018 and recently their deal to house federal detainees.
Instead, they will be collaborating with Union County to run a reentry program going forward.
Edwards has also been navigating the jail throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where four workers – including two corrections officers – died.
Two veteran county commissioners said that despite the challenges, they thought Edwards did a great job in his four-plus years as director.
“Ron is a very hard working guy who took his job to heart: he always had an outstanding job performance. I wish him well and the best of luck in his retirement. I hope the next person measures up to his performance,” said Board of County Commissioners Chair Anthony Vainieri (D-8).
He also joked he’d be submitting his resume to the county for the post.
“I’m sorry to see Ron go, I developed a friendship with him over the past few years. I think he helped initiate a lot of good programs related to the rehabilitation portion of what our correctional facility does,” noted County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2).
A potential successor, at least on an interim basis, is Ed Nestor, a retired Jersey City police captain who was hired as Edwards’ chief of staff 13 months ago.
As a former corrections officer of 30 yrs working under Director Edwards was of essence He was understanding of everyday life situations of his officers. In any event he helped me in several life demanding decisions. He was great during my career and I wish him well. Hudson County is very challenging because of his politics. As a resident who grew up in Duncan projects , bachelors of science graduate of NJCU, 30yrs law enforcement and Honor Guard I could most definitely do well with maintaining the facility.. I salute you Director..
A remarkable and gifted individual, with problem-solving abilities that came naturally. Always clear, logical and data-driven. It was a pleasure to have served in his Administration.