The Township Councilwoman’s decision not to seek re-election in May brings an end to eight years of service on the governing body.
By: David M. Campbell
WEST WINDSOR Longtime Township Councilwoman Rae Roeder said this week that she will not run for re-election in May’s race.
Meanwhile, Michael Lynch, a litigation consultant with a long history of community service in West Windsor, announced his candidacy for one of the two seats up for grabs this year.
Ms. Roeder’s decision brings to an end more than a decade of public service in township government, but, she said, not an end to serving.
"When you’re at something for eight years, it’s time to take another look at things," she said. "I’ll be there. I’m not moving out of town, and I’ve got a lot of good years left."
The sometimes-fiery councilwoman has served on the governing body for eight years, during which she has held the offices of president and vice president, the latter of which she currently holds. Prior to joining the council, she served on the Planning Board for about three years.
"It used to be I was the only one who sat in the audience," she said of her years prior to entering township government. "Now I will continue as a member in the audience."
Ms. Roeder, 57, has lived in West Windsor her whole life. Her childhood home stood alongside Route 1 when it was still a two-lane road. She says she can remember walking across the road with friends to attend classes at the old Penns Neck School, which later was demolished by the state when the highway was expanded.
"Can you imagine school children crossing that road today?" she asked.
Ms. Roeder graduated from Princeton High School in 1962. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Rider University, then attended graduate school at Tennessee State University, where she earned master’s degrees in education and American history.
She has been an employee of the state Department of Education for 23 years, and for the last five years she has served as president of the Communications Workers of America’s local union that represents state workers.
Ms. Roeder said her first involvement with local politics began when she helped lead the fight to stop the 1,500-unit Countryside development, precursor to the massive and controversial Toll Brothers development proposed to be built off Bear Brook Road.
In addition, she helped get the Penns Neck Baptist Church and the Red Lion Inn registered as historic sites.
Ms. Roeder took part in the successful effort to change West Windsor’s form of government from a partisan committee form, in which the mayor is elected from among the five-member committee, to a nonpartisan council form, in which the mayor is elected separately from the five-member council.
"I felt we needed a person such as the mayor who was more in touch with the administration because the town was growing," she said. "We needed someone who had more administrative powers."
The new council was inaugurated on July 1, 1993, and Ms. Roeder was among its first members. Of the political atmosphere in general since the change of government, she said, "I think there has been an improvement. When we first began, (politics) was more contentious than it is now. The current mayor (Carole Carson) tends to sit down with the council and work out the issues before it."
What drew Ms. Roeder to local government, she said, was "the tremendous growth in the community, and the fact that there didn’t seem to be a handle on that growth. West Windsor was growing in leaps and bounds," without the necessary attention to road and other township infrastructure to properly handle it, she said.
Of recent accomplishments on council, Ms. Roeder said she was "extremely proud of being able to vote to acquire open space in the township," and of ongoing efforts by the council to get the new Princeton Junction Firehouse built on Clarksville Road, across from the municipal complex.
Ms. Roeder, who also serves as municipal chairwoman of township Democrats, said she’s leaving the council in part to gain a new perspective.
"I’m stepping back a little," she said. "I’m stepping down from the dais to gain the perspective of the public."
She said she plans to continue leading the annual Memorial Day parade, which she has done for the past 10 years, and the township’s Veterans Day celebration.
Ms. Roeder’s council seat and that of Councilwoman Jacqueline Alberts are up for re-election in May. Ms. Alberts has not yet confirmed whether she plans to run. In February, local activist Harley Pickens announced his intention to run.
On Thursday, Mr. Lynch threw his hat into the ring.
"I think that I can make a significant contribution to town council based on my nearly 30 years as a resident in West Windsor and my extensive involvement in community organizations," said Mr. Lynch, who has served on the township Zoning Board of Adjustment and Affordable Housing Committee.
Mr. Lynch also is a volunteer with the township’s Domestic Violence Response Team, as well as with Habitat for Humanity and Womanspace. He is on the advisory board of the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf.
He works as a litigation consultant to various New York government transportation agencies.
Although West Windsor’s elections are nonpartisan and Mr. Lynch is registered without affiliation, Mr. Pickens and Mr. Lynch have the endorsement of local Republicans.
Zoning Board member Alison Miller, a former member of the Township Council, confirmed Thursday that she is circulating petitions for the election, but said she could not yet confirm whether she will run.