Former Atlantic County Surrogate and Freeholder James Carney died Friday at 78, his family confirmed Monday. Carney had undergone a successful kidney transplant in October 2022, said his wife, Jackie Carney, but died of complications of diabetes. “He would still be here if it was just a matter of the kidney,” she said. “That went great.” Carney, of Egg Harbor Township, was a Republican freeholder – now called county commissioner.