Open Princeton mayoral race draws three, so far

Democrat primary race in offing; GOP still in discussions.

By: Jennifer Potash
   A month after Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed announced he would not seek re-election, only three candidates have stepped forward for a bid to succeed the three-term mayor.
   Democrats Joseph O’Neill and Reed Gusciora are expected to file their petitions Monday, the deadline for the June primary.
   Steven Syrek, a Vandeventer Avenue resident and Green Party candidate for Borough Council in 2002, said Thursday he will also run for mayor.
   The Princeton Borough Republicans have not announced a candidate either for mayor or for Borough Council. Wendy Benchley and Peggy Karcher, the incumbent Democrats on the council, are seeking re-election.
   Michael Carnevale, of the Republican Association of Princeton, said the Republicans are in discussions with possible candidates.
   The Republicans did not run a candidate in the 2002 Borough Council elections and only single candidates for two council slots in 2001 and 2000.
   The two Democratic candidates will vie Sunday for the Princeton Community Democratic Organization’s endorsement. The endorsed candidate receives preferred ballot position for the June 3 primary.
   Mr. O’Neill of Gordon Way is serving his first term on Princeton Borough Council. A retired education consultant, he was a 16-year member of the Princeton Regional Planning Board.
   Mr. Gusciora, a labor lawyer and Maclean Street resident, is a four-term member of the New Jersey State Assembly.
   He serves as chairman of the Assembly Environment Committee.
   Mr. Syrek is pursuing a doctorate in English at Rutgers University and said he will devote himself to the campaign when the semester ends in May.
   Independent candidates must submit their petitions by June 3.
   Other mayoral candidates may come from third parties. Jim Firestone, president of Concerned Citizens of Princeton, said his group might produce some candidates to run for mayor and council.
   "Some people have expressed interest but I don’t know if they will run as Republicans or some other party," Mr. Firestone said.
   Concerned Citizens formed last summer in opposition to the borough’s downtown garage plans. In January, the group filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the project, but the suit was overturned Monday by a Mercer County Superior Court judge.
   With the organization weighing an appeal of the judge’s ruling, Mr. Firestone said he has not decided whether to run for local office.
   "I will run if I have to," he said.