PACKET EDITORIAL, Oct. 19
By: Packet Editorial
In the race for two seats on the Princeton Township Committee, two candidates stand head and shoulders above the field incumbent Democrat Phyllis Marchand and her running-mate, Casey Hegener. We support both for election Nov. 6.
Ms. Marchand has been subject to especially vitriolic attack in this campaign, much of it from animal rights’ activists who continue to express outrage over the township’s deer-management plan. This plan, which includes the controversial component of hiring sharpshooters to thin the herd, was adopted by unanimous vote of the Township Committee, but since Ms. Marchand serves in the largely ceremonial post of mayor, she has borne the brunt of the criticism.
We have had our own mild disagreements with the Township Committee regarding the deer-management plan. Months ago, we urged Ms. Marchand and her colleagues to consider installing reflectors and to look into immunocontraception options as pilot projects, if for no other reason than to reduce the decibel level in the shrill debate over sharpshooting. We believe she became overly defensive on this issue, digging in her heels when a less rigid position might have been more productive.
But we have only admiration for Ms. Marchand’s courage in spearheading the initiative to get state approval for the township’s deer-management plan. We applaud the decision to move ahead with the controversial but, in our view, absolutely necessary step of hiring sharpshooters to thin the deer herd, and deeply appreciate Ms. Marchand’s hard work, especially in the face of such vehement and unrelenting opposition (much of it from nonresidents), to press ahead with a program that is in the best interest of Princeton Township.
Ms. Hegener, co-founder of Peterson’s publishing company and a Princeton resident for 37 years, has served on numerous civic organizations, including the most recent Consolidation Study Commission. She is well versed in the issues facing the township, including the deer-management plan, which she strongly supports. Her business background and fresh perspective would make a welcome addition to the Township Committee.
Republicans Robert Willis, a retired banker, and Michael Bonotto, a regional manager for a radio communication business and longtime volunteer for the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, are well-intentioned newcomers to the political scene. Both appear enthusiastic about digging into the details of the key issues facing the township open-space preservation, senior housing, traffic and transportation but their present level of knowledge on these issues is superficial at best. We are particularly impressed, however, by Mr. Bonotto’s sincere interest in getting involved in local government, and encourage him to continue pursuing this interest, perhaps as preparation for another, future run for public office.
This year’s race has been enlivened, if not edified, by the presence of two Green Party candidates, Emily Cook and Jeff Gorman. Mr. Gorman, proprietor of Creative Computing, and Ms. Cook, a clinical social worker, have built a campaign platform on a bedrock of opposition to anything and everything Ms. Marchand stands for. They criticize the township’s deer-management plan in the most incendiary language, calling the hiring of sharpshooters "appalling" and contending that the township "shouldn’t be in the business of slaughtering animals." They make wild accusations about the new township building, condemning "excessive" change orders (which actually amount to less than 2 percent of the total project cost) and recklessly accusing township employees of "neglect" in overseeing construction. They say the Township Committee hasn’t been "aggressive enough" and has provided "no leadership" in promoting senior housing, but they offer no constructive ideas of their own aside from Mr. Gorman’s rather curious suggestion that the new township building might somehow have been built on Mount Lucas Road (on land the township doesn’t own) while the township-owned property at Witherspoon Street and Valley Road could have been turned over to senior housing.
The choice for Princeton Township Committee this year could not be clearer. We offer our unreserved endorsement to Phyllis Marchand and Casey Hegener.

