NORTH WILDWOOD – The late state Sen. James Cafiero was to be honored, Aug. 9, with a memorial Mass and burial after he passed away, Aug. 3, at the age of 94.
Cafiero, who practiced law for 66 years in North Wildwood, also served 24 years in the New Jersey Legislature as an assemblyman and senator.
Cafiero is remembered by those who knew him well as a kind, personable, and intelligent sort of person, who was very humble and unassuming. Marcia Shallcross McCulley worked for Cafiero as his legislative chief of staff for 11 years, and said she was very sad to hear of his passing.
“What a great man. There are many stories, many memories,” she said.
McCulley said Cafiero was well-loved and well-respected not only locally, but in Trenton as well.
“I know that sounds like a cliché, but in his case, it’s definitely true,” she said. “Many people in Trenton loved him.”
McCulley said Cafiero served in government in a different era and he was not as much of a politician as he was a public servant.
There’s no limit to the good mankind can do when the man is not looking for credit.
– James Cafiero
McCulley said when she told her husband that Cafiero passed away, he reminded her of something Cafiero would say that she always repeated: There’s no limit to the good mankind can do when the man is not looking for credit.
“It’s funny, when I tell people today that I worked in politics for 11 years, people kind of cringe at the idea of politics, but back when I worked for the senator, politics wasn’t a dirty word,” McCulley said.
McCulley said Cafiero respected her opinion, particularly where they took a different stance on issues. She said he would generally want to know where she stood on an issue or her thought process and would genuinely consider her point of view, sometimes making small changes to a bill after careful consideration.
McCulley said for all his stature in the Senate, Cafiero was quite happy to be behind the scenes. She said he was just happy to help his constituents.
North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said it was Cafiero who is responsible for getting state funding for the Wildwoods Convention Center, which he said stands as a memorial to Cafiero’s legislative service.
Jack Gibson, a former assemblyman and current Sea Isle City Council member, said he worked with Cafiero to get the Convention Center funding from the administration of Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.
“The Wildwoods Convention Center (funding) was a very important piece of legislation, but it involved a tax, which is never popular, especially with Republicans,” Gibson said.
Gibson said Cafiero also championed women’s and children’s issues and served on the Assembly’s Women and Children Committee, and, despite having a high-profile position in the state Senate, he maintained his devotion to his wife and family.
“Personally, it’s hard when you’re in the Legislature and in a high-profile position. It’s hard to serve people and be a father and family member, but he did it,” Gibson said.
McCulley said Cafiero was also mindful of other people’s families, never forgetting her birthday and asking about her children.
Rosenello said he remembered Cafiero as a legislator who would often get personally involved in a constituent matter. He said if the constituent was dealing with a state agency and the agency wasn’t moving fast enough, Cafiero was likely to get on the phone and call the commissioner in charge.
Rosenello, right out of college, worked in the First Legislative District team’s 1997 campaign office and got to know Cafiero well. Rosenello said Cafiero was a huge Princeton Tigers fan, having entered the school in 1946. He would later complete ROTC and be commissioned as an ensign and graduated from Penn Law School. Cafiero was accepted into the New Jersey Bar Association in 1954.
McCulley said Cafiero was also a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan, and Rosenello said he remembered him organizing bus trips to home games.
Rosenello said he also remembers Cafiero handing out C-notes (clef notes) to people, with the “C” representing “Cafiero.” Rosenello said Cafiero would acquire money clips and tie clips with the C-note and hand them out to people.
“You would see legislators walking around the state capital wearing C-note tie clips. I think I have one in a drawer at home,” he said.
According to McCulley, when she first started working for Cafiero, he told her, “I curse a lot.”
She said Cafiero didn’t look like someone who would curse, but they ended up cursing a lot together.
She also recalled Cafiero having a sweet tooth. She said he would send office staff around the corner from his Wildwood legislative headquarters to the Cafiero and Balliette law office on New Jersey Avenue to retrieve candy. McCulley would also pick up candy for him at Shriver’s Saltwater Taffy and Fudge out of Ocean City. Rosenello said he remembered there always being a candy jar in Cafiero’s office.
Besides the cursing, McCulley also remembered Cafiero as being a source of funny stories and sayings.
“He would say things like, ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water,’ or ‘It’s like putting lipstick on a pig.’ I always loved it when he talked about ties and said, ‘A tie is like kissing your brother,’” she said.
Rosenello said Cafiero was known for speaking very plainly – and very rapidly.
Working with Cafiero on a daily basis, McCulley got to know Cafiero as a person, and loved taking trips to Trenton with the senator, which always included a stop at Bruni’s Pizza, in Hammonton. McCulley said Cafiero knew just what time to call in the order, so it would be ready when they arrived, and they would also stop at the liquor store to pick up some pony-sized bottles of beer.
Gibson said he also recalled and looked forward to the stops at Bruni’s when the Assembly was in session at the same time as the Senate.
“It was always a good halfway stop,” he said.
However, Cafiero did not do things halfway, McCulley said. Even after retirement, he remained involved in politics and called her five, 10, or 15 years later asking her questions about legislation they had worked on.
“Even after he was out of politics, you couldn’t take the politics out of him,” McCulley said. “He just continued to want to do good things.”
“He was a unique person in my experience. I worked on Capitol Hill, for the state, and for his office, and he was a unique figure – his warmth, his high degree of intelligence, his hands-on approach and the success that he had,” Rosenello said.
Gibson said his family and Cafiero’s were friends long before they served in the Legislature together, however, he said their friendship and his admiration for Cafiero grew strong over the decade or so that they served together.
“I truly enjoyed campaigning with him, celebrating with him, and our conversations during the commutes to Trenton, “Gibson said. “I’m going to miss him.”
Cafiero was a native of North Wildwood. He attended Margaret Mace and St. Ann’s elementary schools and Wildwood High School.
Cafiero served in the state Legislature from 1968 to 1982 and then again from 1990 to 2004. He retired from politics permanently in 2004.
A Mass of Christian Burial was to be celebrated, Aug. 9, at St. Ann’s Church (Notre Dame De La Mer Parish), 2901 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood. Interment was to take place at St. Mary’s Cemetery, 1056 Seashore Rd., Cape May.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
