Rafferty was born on May 1, 1938, to Mae Knox Rafferty and Francis Peter Rafferty, a tool and die maker. His family were Irish, Catholic, and supporters of the Democratic Party. He later described his father as a "dyed-in-the-wool" Democrat.[4]
After law school, Rafferty clerked for U.S. District Court Judge George H. Barlow and worked as a legal analyst for the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Governor William T. Cahill appointed Rafferty as Director of the Division of Administrative Procedure. He left state government in 1974, upon the inauguration of Democratic Governor Brendan Byrne.[4]
Political career
Rafferty made his first run for political office in 1968, when he was an unsuccessful candidate for Mercer CountyFreeholder.[4]
In 1969, Rafferty was elected to the Hamilton Township council. He was the first Republican elected to the council in 19 years. He served for six terms.[4][5]
In 1976, Rafferty won the first open election for mayor of Hamilton following the ratification of the township's new charter, becoming the first Republican mayor of the township in 26 years. He attended the 1976 Republican National Convention as a delegate pledged to President Gerald Ford.[5][4]
In 1980, after appeals from John P. Sears, Rafferty agreed to serve as the director of Ronald Reagan's New Jersey campaign. Rafferty claimed that he only agreed to serve on the Reagan campaign once he was satisfied that he and Reagan were "philosophically compatible in their politics." Rafferty considered himself a "moderate" Republican who was "moderate-to-liberal" on some issues. After Sears was ousted as Reagan's campaign manager, Rafferty was replaced by Raymond J. Donovan.[8][4]
Following the indictment of incumbent U.S. Representative Frank Thompson, Rafferty was approached to run for the seat in 1980, replacing lesser-known Republican nominee Chris Smith. Rafferty declined.[9] Smith won the race and remains the U.S. representative for Hamilton as of 2024, though redistricting has removed Hamilton from his district for 2023, if re-elected.
In 1985, while still serving as Mayor, Rafferty was elected to the New Jersey Assembly amid a Republican wave election. He unseated incumbent Joseph D. Patero. He served one term and did not run for re-election in 1987.[12] Rafferty intended to challenge Francis McManimon for State Senate in 1987, but after polling showed that both his Assembly seat and mayoral seat were at risk, he refocused on his work as mayor.[8]
In 1999, Rafferty retired rather than run for re-election to a seventh term as Mayor.[5]
Retirement
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.[5] He was elected to the New Jersey Republican Party State Committee in 2017.[13]
Personal life
Rafferty married Doris Tramontana, with whom he had two children, Megan and Daniel.[4]
^Sullivan, Joseph F. (June 7, 1981). "IN NEW JERSEY, THE PARTY IS THE SECOND PART". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2022. Among the names that have emerged are those of Senate Minority Leader Barry T. Parker of Mount Holly and Mayor John K. Rafferty of Hamilton Township, both of whom were defeated by Mr. Kean last week, Eugene J. McCaffrey, the Gloucester County Surrogate and Republican leader, and Joseph E. Gonzalez, the executive director of the Assembly's Republican minority.