Editing Deerfield Township, New Jersey (section)

=== Local government ===
Deerfield Township is governed under the [[Township (New Jersey)|Township]] form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.<ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/inventory_of_municipal_forms_of_government_in_new_jersey.pdf ''Inventory of Municipal Forms of Government in New Jersey''], [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies, July 1, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters [[at-large]] in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.<ref name=DataBook>''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', [[Rutgers University]] [[Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy]], March 2013, p. 19.</ref><ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=7 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 7. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> At an annual reorganization meeting held in January, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another to serve as Deputy Mayor.

{{As of|2023}}, members of the Deerfield Township Committee are [[Mayor]] Abigail Perlstein O'Brien ([[Republican Party (New Jersey)|R]], term on committee ends December 31, 2024; term as mayor ends December 31, 2022), Deputy Mayor Brian L. Casper (R, term on committee ends 2025; term as deputy mayor ends 2023), Anthony A. Brago (R, 2023), Anthony Lamanteer (R, 2025) and Dominick Patitucci (R, 2024).<ref name=Committee>[https://sites.google.com/view/deerfieldtownship/officials Officials], Deerfield Township. Accessed August 28, 2023. As of date accessed, election of Anthony Lamanteer is not reflected.</ref><ref>[https://sites.google.com/view/deerfieldtownship/departments/finance 2021 Municipal Data Sheet], Township of Deerfield. Accessed May 29, 2022.</ref><ref name=CumberlandDirectory>[https://www.cumberlandcountynj.gov/filestorage/22641/24559/2023_Directory_.pdf#page=68 ''2023 Directory of Cumberland County, New Jersey''], [[Cumberland County, New Jersey]]. Accessed March 1, 2024.</ref><ref name=Cumberland2022>[https://ccclerknj.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SUMMARY-REPORT.pdf Election Summary Report General Election Cumberland County November 8, 2022], [[Cumberland County, New Jersey]], updated November 28, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=Cumberland2021>[https://ccclerknj.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SUMMARY-REPORT-1.pdf Election Summary Report General Election Cumberland County November 2, 2021], [[Cumberland County, New Jersey]], updated November 19, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref><ref name=Cumberland2020>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Cumberland/107141/web.264614/#/summary General Election Results November 3, 2020, Official Results], [[Cumberland County, New Jersey]], updated November 19, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.</ref>

After being tied on election day at the November 2014 general election with 362 votes, Democratic incumbent Frank Spatola Jr. was re-elected with 366 votes, edging Republican challenger Jason P. Scythes by three votes once provisional ballots were counted.<ref>Woods, Done E. [http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2014/11/deerfield_township_election_result_comes_down_to_3-vote_difference.html "Deerfield Township election result comes down to 3-vote difference"], [[NJ.com]], November 10, 2014. Accessed June 30, 2016. "According to Kelly Hoffman, election clerk for the Cumberland County Clerk's Office, Democratic incumbent Deputy Mayor Frank Spatola Jr. won re-election with 366 votes. Jason P. Scythes, the Republican challenger, received 363 votes.... After Election Day, Spatola and Scythes were originally tied with 362 votes each."</ref> At the township's January 2015 reorganization meeting, Sparacio was sworn in using a conference call as he was stationed outside the country as part of his service with the [[Air National Guard]].<ref>Woods, Don E. [http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2015/01/deerfield_township_swears_in_deployed_committeeman.html "Deerfield Township swears in deployed committeeman over telephone"], ''[[South Jersey Times]]'', January 14, 2015. Accessed January 15, 2015. "Even though he was deployed overseas with the Air National Guard, Deerfield Township Committeeman Joseph V. Sparacio was sworn in over a conference call during the township's reorganization."</ref>