McGehee Will Succeed DeLuca As Maplewood Mayor In 2020

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - After a decade and a half, Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca is stepping away from his role as mayor and on Monday current Deputy Mayor Frank McGehee was voted in to replace him.

Committee member Dean Dafis was selected for deputy mayor.

"I want to thank my colleagues on the Maplewood Township Committee for their vote at last night's annual caucus to serve as your next mayor. I literally stand on the shoulders of giants and am truly humbled and honored by this opportunity to continue to serve our amazing community in this capacity starting Jan. 1," McGehee told Patch. "Thank you to my family and friends for their love and support. And thank you to all of the residents of Maplewood. Together, we will do fantastic things."

Under the Township form of government there is no direct election of mayor. Under the current township government laws, voters elect, at-large, the township committee comprising three or five members. The elections are partisan and the committee members serve staggered three-year terms. The township committee elects the mayor for a one-year term. The mayor serves as chair of the township committee and has powers vested in the mayor's office by general law.

For his part, Dafis said he was grateful.

"I’m very proud of the appointment into a leadership role and grateful for my colleagues’ confidence in me," he said. "I plan on continuing to zealously serve my beloved community and using any juice that my new title has to bring us closer together and to strengthen our position and interests across the state - I’m squeezing the juice into our advocacy."

In Maplewood, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are sworn in during the Jan. 1 reorganization meeting.

That meeting is scheduled for noon on Jan. 1 at the Maplewood Town Hall, 574 Valley Street.

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