Borough Council Candidates' Forum

Photo by Anna Savoia

At this evening’s televised forum of candidates for Borough Council, the Republican candidates had some strong words about the status quo.  

In answer to a question about whether Princeton University’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) was fair, Peter Marks said he found the behavior of the current university administration to be “offensive to the point of obscene.”  “It needs to be stopped and the university reined in”, Marks added in no uncertain terms, referring not only to the Dinky controversy, but also to the Arts and Transit proposal.  

Dudley Sipprelle spoke of the “spectacular lack of vision” on the part of the consolidation commission, when it recommended that a consolidated Princeton should adopt the Borough form of government.  Calling it “antiquated, inefficient, and illegal in New Jersey (except for communities that have been grandfathered in)”, Sipprelle went on to call for greater transparency in government.

Democrats Barbara Trelstad (incumbent) and Heather Howard focused their comments more on the benefits of consolidation.  Their arguments echoed those offered up two days ago by the Township candidates, such as:  savings, efficiencies, and a sense of unity.  “The Borough is special, but all of Princeton is special”, said Heather Howard, and suggested that in this financial downturn the savings that would be realized from consolidation would help “maintain Princeton as we know and love it now.”  “Consolidation is the first, best and biggest step toward efficiency”, added Trelstad.

“Consolidation is ducking the issue”, Marks countered.  “If we want to reexamine spending, we can do it now”. Citing his own financial background as a credit analyst, Marks cautioned that spending on services needs to be scaled back to match revenue.  “In many ways the Borough is a troubled entity” that he wants to fix.  Nor does Marks think that the solution lies in pursuing more “ratables” in the Borough.  He fears more development would “drive up land values, higher taxes, and crucify the people who have been in the Witherspoon neighborhood for decades”.

Trelstad, who sits on the Regional Planning Board, said she saw the development of the hospital property as a benefit to the Witherspoon neighborhood.  

Bad traffic and parking came up as issues that affect Borough residents more deeply than those of the township, and on that all candidates agreed.  But they differed on their approach to fostering a more vibrant downtown.  Sipprelle and Trelstad suggested studying the possibility of a pedestrian mall.  Marks said that would be the death of downtown.

Tonight’s forum was organized by the League of Women Voters, and followed a regulated pattern of questions from the moderator rather than direct debate between candidates.  Still, as the lone incumbent, Trelstad found herself on the defensive against several  barbs from the Republican challengers.  She defended the Borough’s handling of emergency response to the recent floods, which Sipprelle described as “a disaster”.  And to Sipprelle’s charge that the Borough’s closed meetings indicated a lack of transparency, Trelstad pointed out that these meetings were needed to formulate the Borough’s negotiating position with regard to the University, and as such, had to be held behind closed doors.  Trelstad, like Marks and Howard, believes the University could contribute more than it currently does to the Borough coffers.  Sipprelle said the University’s contributions to the community go beyond the $1.3 million in PILOT payments, and described himself as the negotiator and diplomat who would be able to mend relations with Nassau Hall.

2011 Princeton Borough Council Candidates Forum from Princeton Community Television on Vimeo.

Up next on Princeton’s public meeting calendar:  Princeton Future hosts a meeting on consolidation this Saturday, Oct. 1, at 9am at the Public Library.  

The next forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters is Oct 17, in the Township Building, with candidates of the 16th Legislative District, which now encompasses Princeton.

About the Author

Donna Liu

Founder, AllPrinceton

Donna Liu is a digital journalist who has lived in Princeton with her family since 2002.  She founded AllPrinceton in 2010 as an online hub for community news and information.  At Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, she built UChannel - an online archive of public affairs lectures in academia.  Before that she established and managed CNN International's Asia Production Center in Hong Kong.