Maplewood Township Committee Deputy Mayor Jamaine Cripe presided over her last TC meeting on Tuesday, December 17. Cripe gave a heartfelt and at times emotional goodbye to her fellow TC members, Township staff, and the community.
Although it would be her last official TC meeting (at least for now) at Town Hall, Cripe assured the TC and the public that she would still be “here” in Maplewood, serving the community she loves.
Cripe started by thanking her husband and daughter “for their love and support in the chaotic and insane decision to run for township committee many years ago.” Turning to TC member Vic DeLuca, she joked that he was the one most to “blame” for encouraging her to run, and “making it seem like this is the right place to be.”
Years ago, she told DeLuca, “I had enough huevos to actually approach you at a event and say, basically, I’m going to take your job one day. I didn’t quite get there yet, but who’s to say, that might happen. But thank you for your trust. Thank you for always being there to support me and coming to tell me, ‘even though we don’t agree, I support your right to say what you need to say,’ and that means a lot. So thank you for being a mentor.”
She also thanked the voters of Maplewood who “entrusted me with this role…I never in a million years thought a kid from Daytona Beach would have been doing things here in Maplewood, but you gave me a chance, and I appreciate the support, the criticism, the calls to to do the right thing, the challenges that have come with being in this role.”
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She praised the town staff and how good they are at their jobs. Despite any issues, “this town runs like a machine, as it’s supposed to and it’s because of you all and how you’ve been the consummate professionals that we pay you to be.”
Cripe continued, “To the members of the township committee, all of you have been friends, all of you have been supporters, but one has been more of a friend and supporter than others.” She turned to Mayor Nancy Adams next to her and reached out for her hand, pausing as she became emotional.
To Adams, she said, “Thank you for all that you’ve given me, all that you’ve supported me with, how you’ve been not only the sounding board and running mate, but sometimes that person, you want to go, ‘Oh my God, will you tell me not to do this again?'” she said with a laugh.
“Finally, for the people who volunteer in our community, the ones who are afraid to step forward, and the ones who aren’t sure they have something to give, yeah, you do. You do. We don’t do what we do here without your support, and there is so much left to be done, and we need people who are looking to move this community into a place that helps everyone, all the residents, from the top of the hill all the way down to DeHart Park. We want more from our community and together, we can get there, but we’ve got to do it together.
“And so my final thing to say to you is a quote a friend of mine gave me years ago:…’I often see that we have a choice between submitting to pain and hurt or following love and hope. I commit and recommit daily to being part of my community, and it’s not because it’s easy, it’s because it’s my home.’ Thank you for making Maplewood home for me,” she concluded, wiping away tears.
Adams thanked Cripe for being a sounding board and confidante to her as well. “It’s a pleasure to serve with someone who has a strong foundation of honesty and integrity, and that means a ton in this little field we have of public service and politics. So I will miss you. I will miss serving with you…but go with the good work you did and the service that you gave and will continue to give, as Mr. DeLuca said, because it comes from your heart. It always does, and I’m proud to know you and proud to have run with you and serve with you. So we’ll miss you very much.”
Watch Cripe’s remarks beginning around the 1:31 mark
