Englewood City Council Appoints Drakeford's Replacement

Financial advisor and former Englewood Councilman Wayne Hamer will succeed, at least for the next two months, longtime 4th Ward Councilman Jack Drakeford, who died over the summer at the age of 75 after decades of public service.

The Englewood City Council voted 3-0 Tuesday in favor of appointing Hamer, who served on the Council from 1996 to 2003, with 2nd Ward Councilman Michael D. Cohen abstaining.

Two other nominees presented to the Mayor and City Council by the Englewood Democratic Committee were vying to fill Drakeford’s seat through the Nov. 6 election, Curtis Caviness, who was once a member of the Englewood Board of Education and currently serves on the Planning Board, and healthcare executive and board president of the Vincent K. Tibbs Child Development Center Rosemary Tillman-Scott.

Whoever is elected on Nov. 6 will serve out the remainder of Drakeford’s term, which runs through December 2013, according to Englewood Mayor Frank Huttle III, who called the decision Tuesday “very important to a lot of people in here” and said Hamer now has some “very big shoes” to fill.

“As Frank said, Jack’s shoes won’t be easy to fill, and I’m going to do my level best,” Hamer said after taking the oath of office. “When I go to sleep, I’ll be thinking about what I can do to make the 4th Ward a little bit better and Englewood as a whole.”

After Councilman Marc Forman made a motion to nominate Hamer Tuesday and Councilman Eugene Skurnick seconded the motion but before the Council voted, Cohen explained why he was choosing to abstain, saying, “I just have a very big problem having an elected body that doesn’t represent totally the 4th Ward making decisions for the 4th Ward.”

“This whole process for me has been very uncomfortable,” Cohen said, adding, “I really look forward to November to see who the 4th Ward elects themselves.”

Drakeford, an Englewood native who died Aug. 2, first served as 4th Ward Councilman from 1973 to 1977, NorthJersey.com reported, and then again more than 20 years later.

In between, Drakeford was named city clerk in 1977 and city manager in 1985, serving in a dual capacity until his retirement in 1993. He was then appointed to back-to-back, three-year terms in 1993 on the Englewood Board of Education, returning to the Council in 1999, according to the report, and serving until his death.

Drakeford served as Council president in 1976, 1999, 2002 and 2004 and as a consultant for Labor Union Local 108 RWDSU, according to city officials.

In addition to his role as city clerk and city manager, Drakeford was also an Englewood firefighter, acting director of the Englewood DPW and acting Public Safety director during his career, according to officials.

On Tuesday, Huttle thanked everyone who “participated in the process … not just for today or trying to get this seat [filled], but for decades of serving this seat.”

“Each and every one of you are highly qualified and brings a separate set of talents,” Huttle said to the three nominees for the seat, later adding, “At least for me, [Drakeford’s] shoes will never be filled.”

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