Kevin Riordan: Cherry Hill mayor exits after a 'wonderful ride'

I first met outgoing Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt when he ran for township council in 1977.

The family man, funeral director, and civic leader from the Downs Farm neighborhood was one of four fresh faces on a township council slate backed by the Democrats.

Platt may have been eclipsed by the unexpected star power of running mate and soon-to-be Mayor Maria Barnaby Greenwald, but he was likable and loyal, happy to shake hands or knock on doors. And he was in politics for the long haul.

"It's been a wonderful, wonderful ride," says Platt, who as mayor has overseen the evolution of Cherry Hill's commercial core.

He opted not to seek another term and leaves office Sunday after a total of 12 years as mayor, equaling the records of Christian Weber and John Gilmour in the 1960s and '70s.

"Becoming mayor was a tremendous leap for me," adds Platt, who turns 78 on Saturday. "I'd never dreamed of doing anything like it."

Growing up in a Democratic household in West Chester ("I stuffed envelopes for Harry Truman when I was 14"), Platt dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.

But when he was 17, his father died, and the future mayor had to help his mother continue the family livestock business. Then "two Quaker ladies" with whom she was friends made a startling suggestion.

"They said, 'Bernard, we think thee would make a fine mortician,' " recalls Platt, who couldn't afford mortuary school but got financial help from a wealthy cousin in Philadelphia.

By 1965, Platt and his wife, Judith, needed a new home for their growing family (the couple have four children and eight grandchildren). They found it in Cherry Hill, which was rapidly replacing Camden as South Jersey's economic and political capital.

"We hadn't even unpacked our boxes when we got a flyer from the civic association, about an issue," Platt says. "I went to the meeting and opened my big mouth."

A decade later, businessman/power broker Lewis Katz approached Platt to become a candidate for the township's Democratic committee.

He was elected to the township council two years later, served two years as mayor, and then as a Camden County freeholder. He took some time away from politics to build his business, Platt Memorial Chapels Inc., but was elected mayor again in 2002.

In the following decade the former Garden State Park racetrack was at long last redeveloped - not into the "downtown" some had envisioned, but as a less ambitious mixed-use complex.

"I'm pleased with the way it turned out," says Platt, who declines to comment on incoming Mayor Chuck Cahn's assertions that the township isn't sufficiently business-friendly. "I think the results speak for themselves," Platt adds.

He is nothing if not positive about the township:

"Cherry Hill is probably the greenest town in the state of New Jersey."

"Cherry Hill has the finest police force in the state of New Jersey."

"Cherry Hill has one of the best school systems in the state and nation."

In addition to providing me with a list of 50 of his administration's accomplishments, Platt cites his positions regarding law enforcement and education as evidence of his independence from the county Democrats.

"I do not believe Cherry Hill should be part of a regional police force," he declares. "I also believe that charter schools are basically private schools being funded with public money."

He does favor a study of whether Cherry Hill and Merchantville should merge. "Otherwise you'll never know if it will or won't work . . . or whether there will be cost savings," he says.

Being mayor of Cherry Hill "does carry a certain amount of power," Platt notes. "But it's not as much as people think."

And now, "I'm stepping away from it, into another phase."

Suddenly Platt can't hold back his emotions.

He really has loved this job.

"It's not going to be easy for me," the mayor says. "But I'd like to thank the people for giving me the opportunity to serve.

"I've tried to do the best I can."

To view Kevin Riordan's interview with departing Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt, go to

www.philly.com/bernieplattEndText

at 856-779-3845, kriordan@phillynews.com, or @inqkriordan on Twitter. Read the metro columnists' blog, "Blinq," at http://www.philly.com/blinq.