Content about Township

Richard Woodbridge, former Township mayor and former Borough Councilman, is running for mayor of consolidated Princeton.  He says that what the municipality needs most during this period of transition is “experience, experience, experience.”

Woodbridge has the unique background of having served on the elected governments of both Princeton Township and Princeton Borough.  He also grew up in Princeton, went through the public school system, and graduated from Princeton University. 

Borough Councilman and local business owner Kevin Wilkes is hoping to serve as the first mayor of consolidated Princeton.  If elected, he said that maintaining efficiency in municipal services would be his top priority.

“My goal is to effectively implement the consolidation program to manage our community affairs as one New Princeton,” Wilkes said.  “There is a high level of expectation in our community with regards to our two forms of government, and as they merge into one Princeton there can be no let down in service delivery to our citizens.”

The election for the Princeton School Board is coming up on April 17th, and there will be a "School Board Candidates' Night" this Tuesday.  Besides voting on the annual budget totalling $75,607,106 in operating expenses (click here for a pdf), voters will be asked to select two representatives from the Borough and one from the Township.

The Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) formally endorsed the current deputy mayor of Princeton township Liz Lempert in her bid to become the first mayor of the unified Princeton, along with four prospective candidates for Council:Lance Liverman, Bernie Miller, Heather Howard, and Patrick Simon.

In anticipation of the first election cycle of the soon-to-be consolidated Princeton Borough and Township, Sunday’s assembly at the Jewish Center of Princeton  drew a crowd of over 500 community members and eligible voters.

On Tuesday, January 31^st, the transition task force held a kickoff meeting that laid the groundwork to help bring Princeton one step closer to consolidation.

The meeting started with members of the team introducing themselves. The team is comprised of elected officials as well as six Princeton residents, three from the Borough and three from the Township, with a fourth resident from each municipality serving as alternate.

Strolling through Princeton at night in the coming weeks, people may be wondering about the lovely luminaries lining the sidewalks and paths in Palmer Square, on Princeton University campus, along the Princeton Township building and other areas of Princeton. The lights are part of the Womanspace Communities of Light campaign to express solidarity with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

The Princetons are now accepting applications (until Dec. 7) for a transition team with a historic mission:  consolidating the borough and township into a merged government that will take over on January 1, 2013.
 

In a town hall meeting with Princeton Township Mayor Chad Goerner and Princeton Borough Council member Kevin Wilkes, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie congratulated the two Princetons on the recent vote in favor of consolidation.

“We have to start not just talking about challenging the status quo, but actually challenging it,” Christie said, calling the Princetons an example for the rest of the state.

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. 
 

Despite predictions of low statewide voter turnout today, Princeton could prove to be the exception, as the stakes on the local ballot are exceptionally high this year.

Click here for agenda

The co-author of a study on PILOT – an acronym for payments made voluntarily by tax-exempt nonprofits as a substitute for property taxes – recommended at a Township Committee meeting Monday that a collaborative approach would be better than “public shaming”, a process she called “highly contentious.” 
 

At last night’s Borough Council meeting, Anne Waldron Neumann of the public citizens’ group Save the Dinky described Councilwomen Jenny Crumiller and Jo Butler as “heroines” for their stance against Princeton University’s plans to move the Dinky station.  That didn’t prevent the rest of the Borough Council from voting “Yes” on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) drawn up earlier this week between the Township, Borough, and University

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

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.

A forum over consolidation, hosted last night by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO), launched with a look at what makes this year's proposal different from previous attempts at bringing the Borough and Township together.

Princeton voters face some unique choices on the ballot this November.  Most notably, whether to consolidate the Borough and Township.  Other big decisions Princetonians must make this year include: choosing a new Borough mayor to replace Mildred Trotman, who retires after more than 25 years in public service;  and voting for the first time in the 16th New Jersey Legislative District, to which Princeton has been moved after last April’s statewide redistricting.

The Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) is hosting a program that is free and open to the public. The topic is: “CONSOLIDATION: A debate on the proposal to merge Princeton Borough and Township.” The program will feature a balanced panel of local Democrats with expertise on the current proposal as well as on past proposals for municipal consolidation. The discussion will focus on two main questions regarding the issue of consolidation: “What’s different this time?” and “What’s a progressive Democrat to do?” The panelists will respond to written questions from the audience.

Shred your personal documents from 10am- 2pm Municipal Parking Lot-Witherspoon St.
Household Goods & Medical Equipment 10am - 2pm Municipal Parking Lot-Witherspoon St.
Rain Barrel Workshop 9am - 11am Build Your Own! Community Room inside Municipal Building
Pre online registration & payment required: www.water.rutgers.edu to register for workshop
Recycle ORGANICS Curbside -The Pilot Organic Program is EXTENDED Learn how to Participate

The new University Medical Center of Princeton currently expects to open on May 22, 2012 with some significant changes in patient care, including an enlarged emergency department with individual rooms; medical services re-organized around a “portals of care” concept; de-centralized nursing stations; and a more environmentally friendly design in its new Plainsboro location.

Princetonians should be on the lookout for Sharrows -- a catchy name for shared lane markings, soon to be painted on Princeton streets. An image of a bicyclist with two directional chevrons, “sharrows” remind drivers to share the road with bicyclists.
 

RAIN LOCATION: Suzanne Patterson Center, 45 Stockton Street (Behind Princeton Borough Hall).  This marching band event by the award winning Bushwackers is sponsored by the Valley Road School-Adaptive Reuse Committee (VRS-ARC) and Valley Road Community Center, Inc. (VRSCCI). Founded in 1981, the Bushwackers are six-time DCA World Champions, a 60-member all-age drum and bugle corps coming fresh from the Jersey Shore Invitational Competition being held the previous week.

Township Mayor Chad Goerner is ready to take a shot at dunking a willing police officer at Community Night

On Monday, September 26 - 7:00PM - 8:00PM, Princeton Community TV will televise a live debate among candidates for Princeton Township Committee co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and AllPrinceton.com.  Video of the debate will be archived on the websites of all three sponsors.