Consolidation and Democrats are the Big Winners in Princeton

Photo by Karan Kotz

After a long and arduous process – after three unsuccessful attempts – Princeton residents on Tuesday voted to reshape the future of their towns, put aside Borough and Township differences, and become a single municipality.
 
Sixty percent of the Borough voted for consolidation, along with more than 85% of the Township.
 
The decision now sets into motion a process that could take years to complete, of merging two governments, two police forces, and two tax bases. 
 
The vote for consolidation also means that the winner of the Borough Mayoral race, Yina Moore, will serve only one year before another election must be held to determine who will govern the new, merged, Princeton.
 
This did not seem to bother Moore, who appeared vindicated after Borough voters gave her a 1,117 to 984 victory over Republican challenger Jill Jachera.  Although Jachera had been a late entry into the Mayoral race, she had raised more campaign contributions and media endorsements than her rival.
 
Still, the Democratic advantage in Princeton once again seemed secure this year, after Democrats swept all the local and regional races.  Heather Howard and Barbara Trelstad were elected to the Borough Council by a more than two-to-one margin over the Republican candidates.  Similar numbers ensured another term for Township committee members Bernie Miller and Sue Nemeth.
 
Beyond Princeton’s borders, the Democrats prevailed in the Mercer County elections for County Executive (Brian Hughes), Sheriff (Jack Kemler), Surrogate (Diane Gerofsky), and Freeholders (Lucylle Walter, John Cimino, Samuel Frisby).
The exception to the Democratic juggernaut was the 16th Legislative District, to which Princeton was moved after redistricting earlier this year.  All three incumbent Republicans in the 16th Senate and Assembly seemed assured of re-election by the time unofficial votes were counted at midnight.
 
At the time of this writing, all tallies were still considered unofficial.  For complete results of all Mercer County races and questions, including those in Princeton, see:  http://www.nj.gov/counties/mercer/officials/clerk/news/11082011ElectionResult.htm

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.