John K. Rafferty

In 1969, Rafferty was elected to the Hamilton Township council. He served for six terms.[3]

In 1971, Rafferty ran for the New Jersey Assembly to represent Hamilton, Trenton, and Washington Township (District 6B). He ran to fill the seat left vacant by Joseph Merlino. He and Republican running mate Peter Rossi lost the race for the multi-member district to Francis J. McManimon and incumbent S. Howard Woodson.[4][5]

In 1976, Rafferty ran in the first open election for mayor of Hamilton following the ratification of the township's new charter.[3]

In 1980, following the indictment of incumbent U.S. Representative Frank Thompson, Rafferty was approached to run for the seat, replacing lesser-known Republican nominee Chris Smith. Rafferty declined.[6] Smith won the race and remains the U.S. Representative for Hamilton as of 2021.

In 1981, Rafferty ran for Governor of New Jersey, but finished a distant seventh in the Republican primary, which was won by eventual Governor Thomas Kean.[7]

In 1985, while still serving as Mayor, Rafferty was elected to the New Jersey Assembly amid a Republican wave election. He served one term and did not run for re-election.[8]

In 1999, Rafferty retired rather than run for re-election to a seventh term as Mayor.[3]

After retiring from office, Rafferty remained active in local politics and served as executive director of the Hamilton Partnership, a business group that promotes cooperation among its members and works with the township to attract more businesses to town.[3] He remains active in state and local politics and was elected to the New Jersey Republican Party State Committee in 2017.[9]