Philip N. Gumbs was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 politician from New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, who served on the Monmouth County, New Jersey

Monmouth County, New Jersey

Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...

 Board of Chosen Freeholders

Board of Chosen Freeholders

In New Jersey, the Boards of Chosen Freeholders are the county legislatures in each of that state's 21 counties.- Origin :New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States...

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Biography

Gumbs, the first, and to date, only African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 to serve on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, served on the Aberdeen Township

Aberdeen Township, New Jersey

Aberdeen Township is a Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 18,210....

 council from 1972 to 1975; he served as Mayor of Aberdeen, New Jersey

Mayor of Aberdeen, New Jersey

Mayor of Aberdeen, New Jersey:*Fred Tagliarini circa 2011*Philip N. Gumbs 1974 to 1975*Thomas J. Powers 1972 to 1973...

 from 1974 to 1975. A lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, he was elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1973 and served from January 1974 until April 1976 when he resigned to take a position as a Worker's Compensation Court Judge.

Gumbs was chosen as Director of the Board for the years 1975 and 1976.