Brief: Christie Appoints County GOP Chair to UCC Board

Gov. Chris Christie appointed Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin to the board of trustees of Union County College, according to a statement from the governor's office.

Morin, who has served as county GOP chief since 2004, will join the UCC board immediately as Senate confirmation is not needed for the unpaid post. Christie announced the appointment Monday alongside appointments to four other county college boards, several policy making boards and the renomination of Anne Patterson as a state Supreme Court Justice.

Morin is a partner with the law firm of Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt and Fader, the same firm as former Gov. Jim Florio. He specializes in land use and redevelopment law. He served two terms on the Cranford Township Committee from 1997 to 2002, including serving as mayor of Cranford in 2000. Morin, 42, was one of the youngest mayors in Cranford history.

Since taking over the county GOP, Morin has presided over a strong campaign in the county on Christie's behalf in the 2009 election, along with seeing the party's nominees for freeholder be defeated in every election since he took the helm. Republicans have not won countywide races since 1995.

Morin was an unsuccessful candidate for a state Assembly seat during a 2003 special election convention, narrowly losing to Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield). Morin's name came up for an Assembly vacancy in 2009 but he declined in favor of Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Summit).

Morin and his wife, Maureen McLeer Morin, live in Cranford with their four children.