![]() ![]() On January 1, 1997, Michael Dressler began a 5-year term as Surrogate of Bergen County. Mike received over 154,000 votes gaining victory. ![]() On November 5, 1996, the people of Bergen County responded. His campaign propelled by knowledge, experience, spirit and a motorized wheelchair took him to the municipalities comprising Bergen County. He entered the countywide contest for Bergen County Surrogate. In 1996 Mike Dressler decided to again enter the arena of public service. Following years in private practice, Mike, in 1991, was appointed counsel to the N.J. He was the youngest person ever appointed to that position. The same year the Board of Freeholders of Bergen County appointed Mike counsel to the County of Bergen. In 1983 at age 31 Mike was elected mayor of Cresskill. In 1979 Mike received his law degree from Seton Hall University Law School.Īt home in Cresskill, the town doctors told Mike he could never leave. He continued his education at Fairleigh Dickinson University graduating in 1976. He went back to school receiving an Associates Degree from Bergen Community College in 1974. He purchased a customized van and relearned to drive. With family, friends and neighbors from Cresskill rallying to his side, ramps were built and doorways were widened to accommodate a wheelchair. Mike refused to let mere medical science narrow his world or define his future. In 1972 he was sent home, with doctors assuring him and his family that he would be permanently paralyzed, never able to leave his bed. ![]() He underwent grueling physical therapy at Bergen Pines Hospital (now Bergen Regional Medical Center) for nearly two (2) years. Exhibiting characteristics that would punctuate his life, Mike refused to die. Last rites were administered and his parents were told he would not survive the night. He was pulled out of the ocean unable to move. Mike hit the sandbar solidly, shattering cervical vertebrae. The murky ocean camouflaged a sand bar lying a mere two (2) feet below the surface. He dove into the surf into what he thought was ten (10) feet of water. The summer temperature was soaring the ocean inviting. In June of 1970, with high school graduation only days away, Mike and classmates from Cresskill High School after their senior prom celebrated with a trip to Seaside Park at the Jersey Shore. His story, bordered by tragedy and triumph, is propelled by courage, tenacity and dedication. After the family moved to Cresskill in 1955, where Michael still resides today, his younger brother Raymond William Dressler was born.Ī mere recital of a personal history seems inadequate when detailing the life of Michael R. Dressler was born on Augat Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey to Margaret and Raymond Dressler of Palisades Park, New Jersey. Michael Dressler Bergen County Surrogate Judge ![]()
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