Township Candidates' Forum

Photos by Anna Savoia

The issues in the forefront of Princeton politics, it turns out, cannot be predicted along party lines.  This became apparent in the course of a televised forum this evening of all the candidates for Township Committee.

In answer to questions posed by Karen Siracusa of the League of Women Voters, the four candidates outlined their positions on consolidation, the arts and transit neighborhood, the tax base, and other issues they would have to contend with as township representatives.

Republican challengers Geoff Aton and Mark Scheibner decried the “sense of complacency” in local politics, and called for “new leadership” to deal with what Aton called “a dysfunctional relationship with the university, lack of transparency, and rising taxes”.

Incumbents Bernie Miller and Sue Nemeth pointed out their record of achievements over the past three years:  keeping tax increases to a minimum; preserving natural spaces along the Ridge; negotiating a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from the university.  Most of all, they highlighted their roles in the creation of the Consolidation Commission, a topic that dominated most of this evening’s discussion.

Aton, Miller and Nemeth all offered unequivocal support of consolidation, sayng efficiencies, cost savings, and a commonality of purpose were reason enough to vote for unification in November.  

Scheibner had his doubts.  Although he professed to have once been a supporter of consolidation, Scheibner was unhappy with the recommendation that a consolidated Princeton adopt the Borough form of government.  “It is a weak form of government that favors politicians over people”, he said, “We will end up with bad decisions.” He cited the controversial tax revaluation and the loss of the hospital as examples of poor governance.

Bernie Miller, who was Township Mayor until last January, said he found Scheibner’s criticisms “difficult to understand”.  “The Borough form of government works”, Miller asserted.  “The potential for savings is there, and the potential for good government is there”.

On the question of how to address Princeton’s traffic problems, all candidates trended toward encouraging more biking and walking, and beefing up public transport options.  They also aligned in support of redeveloping lower Alexander Road, especially for the university’s proposed Arts and Transit neighborhood, which Sue Nemeth described as “a tremendous gift to the town”.

A question about the fate of the Valley Road School building -- which currently hangs in the balance between a plan to save it as a community center or tear it down to expand the fire station -- was upstaged by the School Board’s unexpected move to put off a final decision for another year.  This gives Princeton Community TV, which hosted this evening’s forum, a reprieve from an earlier notice to vacate the premises at the end of this month.

Borough Council candidates meet up in a forum this Wednesday, Sep. 28, at 7pm.  The forum will be streamed live at AllPrinceton.com, and broadcast live over Princeton Community TV (Comcast Ch. 30 or Verizon FiOS Ch. 45).
 

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.