First deaf mayor elected in country joins President Biden in celebrating ADA
North Wales Borough, and the town’s Mayor Neil McDevitt, were the talk of the highest office in the land on Monday.
“Yesterday I had the honor of introducing President Joe Biden at the White House, in celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Disability Pride, and Deaf Awareness Month,” McDevitt said.
“The president was very welcoming to Sarah and I, and he asked us so many questions about North Wales Borough,” he said.
Elected in 2021 after a narrow defeat four years before, McDevitt is head of a nonprofit that provides services for the deaf and hard of hearing, and said at the time he was the first candidate elected by the public to a mayor position who is deaf and uses American Sign Language. Since then, his biweekly mayor’s updates typically focus on events in town, or representing the borough regionally — until Tuesday, when McDevitt reported on his visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the day before.
“Christine and Sarah were both texting, like, ‘He said Borough of North Wales!’ Huge thanks to the residents of the borough, for giving me the opportunity to represent our community,” he said.
As he spoke, borough Manager Christine Hart showed a photo taken by McDevitt’s wife Sarah of Neil and Biden strolling out of the White House together, and played several minutes of a video from the official White House YouTube channel showing the ceremony.
North Wales Mayor Neil McDevitt and President Joe Biden walk from the entrance to the White House during an event commemorating the Americans with Disabilities Act on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.“We are so very proud of Neil. I told him, when I heard President Biden say ‘North Wales Borough,’ it gave me goosebumps. I was so proud of Neil, and our community: Neil, you did a spectacular job,” she said.
In the video, McDevitt introduces himself as the mayor, signing as an interpreter narrates simultaneously, as he outlined his birth in 1973, the reason for his loss of hearing, and his upbringing with “sign language as our primary method of communication,” noting “my mother actually signed better than I did.”
“We are here today to celebrate the victories of the people who fought for our human and civil rights, and prepare ourselves for the ongoing challenges that lay ahead,” he said.
North Wales Mayor Neil McDevitt and President Joe Biden pose outside the entrance to the White House during an event commemorating the Americans with Disabilities Act on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.“Like many of you, I woke up one morning with rights I did not go to bed with. The Americans with Disabilities Act made millions of Americans first class citizens in our communities overnight. It was that momentous day, on July 26, 1990, right here at the White House, that those rights were signed into law. And it’s a direct line from that day, July 26, to me being here standing before you, as the first deaf person to be directly elected as mayor in the United States,” McDevitt said.
After introducing, and then hugging, the President, McDevitt stood by as Biden spoke about the borough.
“Neil is, as he said, from North Wales Borough, outside of Philly — almost in heaven, headin’ toward Scranton,” Biden said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
“Neil is the first deaf person ever elected mayor in the history of our nation,” said Biden, before noting McDevitt attended Gallaudet University in Washington D.C, a university founded in 1864 for the deaf and hard of hearing.
As council members applauded at the shout-out for the town, the mayor watched and grinned below the projection screen.
“It was a magical day. My wife and I appreciate everybody’s support,” McDevitt told council.
Several council members added compliments for the mayor in representing the town: councilwoman Sarah Whelan said she thought the speech was ‘amazing, very touching, and putting North Wales Borough on the map. Great job,” and councilwoman Brittany Kohler said she was “very proud of you, Mayor Neil, I appreciate your support and everything you do for the borough.” Councilwoman Wendy McClure said she “started to get tears in my eyes” watching the video of the two together, and council Vice President Mark Tarlecki asked the manager to share as much as possible on the borough’s website and social media pages.
Councilwoman Sally Neiderhiser added that she knew firsthand the impact of ADA: “For me personally, it helped with the sound system here, and I had other services I could take advantage of, and it was a very important day.”
“Being hard of hearing, it’s just made me so proud of you, and that was great. Thank you so much,” she said.
