Hearon seeking to replace him on Princeton Township Committee.
By: David Campbell
Princeton Township Democratic Committeeman Leonard Godfrey, who is in his ninth year on the governing body, said this week he will not seek re-election in November.
Democrat William Hearon, 57, founder of Princeton-based CARD Management and a member of senior-outreach group Community Without Walls, said Wednesday he plans to run to fill Mr. Godfrey’s seat on the all-Democratic committee.
Mr. Godfrey has served three three-year terms on the Township Committee, first from 1989 to 1991, and from 1998 to the present. He has worked on the Sewer Operating Committee, the Joint Cable Television Committee, the Committee on Flood Control, the Traffic Safety Committee and the Housing Board.
Now, he said, he needs a rest.
"One gets a bit tired after six years, and a bit jaded, I think," Mr. Godfrey said. "I said I would step down if they found a good candidate to take my place. I’ve met Mr. Hearon, I think he’s very good, he deserves to run."
Mr. Godfrey added, "If they hadn’t had a good candidate, I wouldn’t step down."
Before his retirement, Mr. Godfrey worked as a research chemist. His last job in industry was at FMC Corp.
He spent the last decade of his professional life working for universities, including the State University of New York and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he patented and licensed inventions by faculty, he said.
Among the committee’s noteworthy accomplishments during his tenure has been its work to expand Princeton’s park system and address the township’s deer problem, he said.
"We’ve added quite a lot of open space," Mr. Godfrey said. And while on the Sewer Operating Committee, he continued, "We’ve made a good start on reducing the leakiness of the sewers."
Mayor Phyllis Marchand said it has been her privilege to work with Mr. Godfrey for all of his terms in office.
"Leonard has been a wonderful colleague to work with. He has a tremendous sense of humor and a dry wit," Mayor Marchand said. "He’s been very thoughtful and extremely thorough. He will be greatly missed.
"Despite his fairly recent physical limitation," the mayor added, "it has never impacted his ability to attend meetings. I have to applaud his dedication after his stroke."
Mr. Godfrey suffered a stroke shortly after he won election to his second term in 1997. Mayor Marchand swore him into office at St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center in Lawrence. Mr. Godfrey served for six years on the committee following his stroke.
Originally from London, Mr. Godfrey has lived in Princeton with his wife, Gillian, for 40 years. She is a former director of the Suzanne Patterson Center.
Mr. Hearon, a Woodland Drive resident and resident of Princeton for 17 years, said he is running for a seat on the committee out of a love of Princeton and a desire to give something back.
"Princeton’s given me a lot and it’s time for me to give back to the community," he said.
Mr. Hearon said his election platform will focus on quality-of-life issues, including smart growth, transportation, senior issues and housing, each of which he said can be addressed with the broader community interests in mind.
"One of the things I’m finding while involved with seniors is that I want to be able to use particular issues and see how they impact the whole community and to find solutions that will support the whole community," he said.
Mr. Hearon also cited land use and open space, as well as inter-municipal planning, as important issues for the township and Princeton as a whole.
"We’ve been successful at preserving 25 percent of our land as open space, but now we need to manage it effectively," he said. "Another question is how do we do regional coordination. Montgomery and West Windsor’s choices affect us."
Mr. Hearon is founder and owner of CARD Management, which works with merchants to set up and utilize credit card services and other commercial resources. He is founding president of Community Without Walls’ House Three, one of five Princeton chapters affiliated with the senior-resource organization.
As a representative for Community Without Walls, he said, he has worked on senior housing issues with the township and the Princeton Regional Planning Board. Mr. Hearon said his business experience will serve him well on the Township Committee.
"I have been actively involved in the business and political community, working with many business people in the township, the borough and throughout the whole region for well over 10 years," he said. "I know the business community and the needs of the business community intimately."
The deadline for candidates to file a petition with the Township Clerk’s Office to run in the November election is 4 p.m. Monday, said Deputy Clerk Kathy Brzezynski. As of Thursday, no petitions were filed with the office, Ms. Brzezynski said.