Events did not influence him as much as the fact his family has a long legacy in area; he began service just after high school
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
Atlantic County Commissioner John Risley has two passions in life — government, politics and history, which he says are the same thing, and investments — and has spent his entire adult life pursuing them.
Risley, 64, has served in public office since 1977. He almost had a day off, but it was not meant to be and so he continues to this day.
Risley is from a family that first set foot in America in 1633 and he seems to have been destined for public service.
He said his great-great-grand uncle was the first mayor of Pleasantville, back when it was known as Risleyville, there’s another John Risley who was county surrogate “back when William Henry Harrison was president” and his great-grandfather was mayor of Margate in the 1920s and ’30s.
“It’s an old south Jersey name. I’m a proud descendant of two of the oldest names in Atlantic County, so when I grew up I had a lot of history shoved down me,” he said, noting his grandmother was a Leeds — “she told me the true story of the Jersey Devil and a lot of other things” — and his father, of course, was a Risley.
The family was one of the big landowners in Atlantic County back when much of the area was part of what is now Egg Harbor Township.
“Land used to be almost worthless,” he said. “My family got land for basically nothing. In fact, sometimes the taxes were more than the land was worth.”
He said the reason why he is so familiar with his family history is that “it was handed down to me but I’m part of the nationwide Risley Reunion.”
The Risley family was one of the founding families of Hartford, Conn., “and then a couple of the Risleys came down to what is now Pleasantville,” he said. “Why they stopped in Pleasantville, I don’t know. Pleasantville was Risleyville and the first mayor was my great-great-grand uncle, James Willis Risley, who is buried in the Park Avenue Cemetery in Pleasantville.”
Risley graduated from Mainland Regional High School in 1974, the same year as Atlantic County Commissioner Maureen Kern, and won his first election to the Mainland Regional High School Board of Education in 1977, just three years after graduation.
“My two passions — I do investments and I do history/government/politics,” he said.
He and Kern have traveled much the same path — both served on Somers Point City Council, spending time as president, and now both are county commissioners. Kern is the board chair and he is vice chairman.
He said there was nothing particular about attending MRHS that ignited his desire to serve.
“No, I just wanted to be involved with the decision-making process,” he said, noting he learned a lot by serving on the school board.
“The best education I ever received was serving on a board of education — you had to learn about law, you learned budgeting and business practices, you learned about labor negotiations. You learn about facilities and facilities management, personnel. It was a great education,” he said.
Since then, he has served several years on Linwood City Council, 10 years on Somers Point City Council, seven years on Egg Harbor Township Committee and 20 years as a county commissioner.
“I’m very passionate about this stuff — I don’t know how else to describe it. I’ve been doing this all of my adult life, since 1977, and basically have not been out of office that entire time,” he said.
He said he often is asked why he keeps serving.
“I enjoy county government quite a bit because there are so many things you can be involved with. It’s not just one item or two items, it’s a mix of different things,” he said, noting he has written reports on different topics — everything from Meadowview Nursing Home to messenger ballots to tax assessment.
“It’s interesting because you can get involved with so many different topics, whether it be the community college or the nursing home or the jail, the animal shelter, social services that we have. County parks, playgrounds, ACIT, special services school district — the list goes on and on. That’s why I enjoy county government so much,” he said.
As far as investing goes, Risley owns an independent stock brokerage firm in Linwood — L.O. Thomas and Co. — that’s been around since 1929. He is the third owner.
Risley worked briefly for Thomas, who was 80 something at the time, “and I was the kid coming in.” He then worked for another owner before he bought the firm in 1989 and moved it out of Atlantic City in 1990 to Linwood Commons.
He said the culture of the times did not influence him either.
“No, it wasn’t the times. My interest and passion would have been the same — it wouldn’t have mattered if it was the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s or the ’20s. I just had that passion and interest. I mean, this is the land where my fathers died, and their fathers and their fathers and so on and so forth,” he said.
