(Photo/West Deptford Township)
James Mehaffey, the Deputy Mayor of West Deptford, holds a lot of responsibility for the residents of West Deptford. Not only is he the Deputy Mayor of West Deptford, but he is also the Chairperson of the Department of Public Safety. He does not take his job lightly and always wants the best for West Deptford and the residents in West Deptford. James Mehaffey strives to make West Deptford a better community despite tough circumstances, like a tight budget. In this interview with James Mehaffey, we look at the trials and triumphs of being involved in the political community of West Deptford, the behind the scenes, and James Mehaffey’s political background. If you have any questions, you can contact him via email or by the phone.
1. What is your goal for West Deptford?
I would like to continue to serve our community as a member of the Township Committee. As the Deputy Mayor I would continue to explore more options in the area of shared services. We have made good progress in this area in the last 2 years such as: taking over Police and Municipal courts services for the Borough of National Park. We have also partnered with the City of Woodbury to provide construction and code enforcement services. These shared services agreements have benefited the taxes payers of West Deptford, Woodbury, and National Park.
2. What is the most interesting thing about being Deputy Mayor?
Being the Deputy Mayor puts you on the front line for decisions making that will shape the future of our community. This is a tremendous responsibility and I do not take it lightly. This is a difficult time for all communities and the decisions we make today will likely affect what will take place next year, two, five and ten years from now and I am very mindful of this responsibility.
3. What is your favorite/least favorite thing about being Deputy Mayor?
The thing I find enjoyable is being able to help the residents of our community by the things we do as elected officials that make our community better. Least favorite… hmm that would be the opposite sometimes we can do all the things we would like to do for our residents due to budget constraints and I find this disappointing.
4. What is the most rewarding/least rewarding thing about being Deputy Mayor?
I have been a resident of West Deptford for over 55 years and being a member of the Township Committee and serving as our Deputy Mayor is an honor and privilege. Giving back to our community and serving on the Township Committee is very rewarding.
Least rewarding? There are two different political parties on the Township Committee and sometimes we do not all agree on all the issues which is good, but when it becomes personal this is a distraction and the best interest of our community suffers.
5. What is something that not many people understand about being Deputy Mayor?
That the D/M is chosen from the 5 members of the Township Committee same with the Mayor. Furthermore, the vote of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor carry the same weight as the other members of the Township Committee.
6. Tell me about how you got involved in politics and became Deputy Mayor of West Deptford.
I was a member of the West Deptford Police department for over 26 years and served as the Chief of Police for 10 of those years so I got to see what politics was all about from the employee side. I was also on the West Deptford Township Board of Education for over 13 years and served as the President of the BOE for 10 years so it seemed like the natural progression to go into the political arena after my police career ended. “I also like to stay busy.”
7. What does the future hold for West Deptford?
Like most communities across our country we have our issues, keeping taxes down and providing good municipal services with less money. But in West Deptford we have resources that we can utilize. West Deptford is located in a prime spot along the Northeast business corridor and this is attractive for businesses. In the last two years we have attracted new business development to our community and more is planned in the near future. Also, we are committed to the development of the Riverwinds area by bringing more businesses to our beautiful riverfront development. So I believe our future is promising.
A Bird's Eye View of West Deptford 