West Deptford Republicans See Success Breeding Success

It wasn’t long ago the West Deptford Republicans were reeling; a party in tatters, meetings consisted of three people around local chair Joann Priga’s living-room table.

They had to rebuild from the ground up, reorganize and recruit.

Two election cycles and three seats taken on the township committee later, and the GOP is suddenly a force for the first time since the ‘80s, as they stand poised to take over majority rule in West Deptford.

And their leaders see it as just the beginning.

“The residents of West Deptford have spoken—they’re tired of the Democratic machine,” Priga said among the celebration at last week. “For the Republican party, it’s uplifting—people are finally seeing the light.”

Priga and committemen-elect Ray Chintall and Sam Cianfarini said the building blocks–getting more people involved and turning things to a cohesive effort–were what made everything possible.

Cianfarini said that grassroots effort extended even just to getting everyday residents more involved and engaged at township committee meetings.

“There were two or three people there when we started this, and now the place is full,” he said.

And of course, there was wdtruth.org, with the township’s debt in 36-point red letters, which they all pointed to as being crucial to their campaign.

“That opened up a lot of eyes in the area,” Chintall said.

Freeholder Larry Wallace, one of two Republicans on the county board, said showing that a split governing body could still be effective likely influenced at least some voters in this election.

“The tide is clearly turning for local politics,” he said. “Change is definitely coming.”

And, Wallace added, the wins in West Deptford and Woodbury give the Republicans some momentum, despite the Democrats sweeping the freeholder race.

“For the Democratic machine to lose Sweeney’s hometown, is big and it’s embarrassing,” he said. “The residents of West Deptford will see their vote does count, and they’ll be thrilled with the results.”

With the majority, the Republicans also have the opportunity to shift the mayor’s seat to one of their own.

Cianfarini said he, Chintall and current committee member Sean Kilpatrick will have to discuss that possibility among themselves ahead of the reorganization meeting on Jan. 5, and that nothing’s been decided as yet.

“We’ll get it figured out,” he said. “There are some serious issues we need to tackle.”

They’ll also be presiding over a committee that will look very different from the current makeup. Mayor Anna Docimo is stepping down at some point before the end of the year, with her replacement likely to be either Denice DiCarlo or Hunter Kintzing, and Hugh Garrison and Len Daws will also be out, Garrison having opted not to run, and Daws falling as a third-party candidate this year.

Cianfarini said it’ll be less about party and more about locals, however.

“It’s going to be a residents of West Deptford majority,” he vowed.

While the victories and new majority are big, Priga said the work doesn’t end with getting Cianfarini and Chintall elected—the party has to continue to evolve, she said.

“It’s going to have to grow more,” Priga said. “Now that they see what’s happening in West Deptford, people will want to come out.”