GOP still empty-handed.
By: Jennifer Potash
The real battle for the next Princeton Borough mayor may be held in June, not November.
Princeton Borough Councilman Joseph O’Neill and State Assemblyman Reed Gusciora each filed petitions Monday to run for Princeton Borough mayor on the Democratic ticket. Mayor Marvin Reed announced last month he would end his 18-year tenure in borough government and not seek a fourth term as mayor.
No Republican filed a petition either for the mayoral race or the two Princeton Borough Council seats.
Michael Carnevale, a member of the Republican Association of Princeton, said the organization may field one or more write-in candidates by the June primary.
"We’re still talking to people," he said.
The Republicans did not run a candidate for the Borough Council in 2002 and only a single candidate in 2001, when Mr. Carnevale ran after his name was added as a write-in candidate on the Republican primary ballot. The last year the Republicans ran a full slate of candidates was 1999. A Republican was last elected mayor in 1980 and to Borough Council in 1991.
Candidates not seeking to run in a primary have until June 3 to file petitions for office with the Mercer County Clerk.
Steven Syrek, a former Green Party candidate for the Princeton Borough Council, has said he will run this year for mayor.
Also, Princeton Borough Council members Wendy Benchley and Peggy Karcher, both Democrats, filed their petitions Monday. Ms. Benchley said she was seeking her third term on council to continue the effort to preserve the borough’s quality of life with more affordable housing options, less truck traffic and better linkages between borough neighborhoods and recreation spaces.
Ms. Karcher, who said she views public office as "one of the highest callings a person can have," said she spent her first term worrying about many diverse issues beyond the parking garage project. An example, she said, was the Princeton Alcohol and Drug Alliance consideration of an underage drinking policy. She wants to continue that work as well as other unresolved issues, such as the completion of Palmer Square’s Hul-fish North townhouse development.
Over 80 Democrats turned out for the Princeton Community Democratic Organization’s endorsement session at Princeton Borough Hall on Sunday. But Mr. Gusciora and Mr. O’Neill, the candidates for mayor, failed to gain the 60 percent of the total vote, in addition to 50 percent of votes cast by borough residents, to secure the organization’s endorsement.
The results were not out of the ordinary, said Andrew Koontz, the borough’s Democratic Municipal Chairman and president of the PCDO.
"Sixty percent is a high hurdle to clear," he said.
Mr. Gusciora and Mr. O’Neill will be listed in alphabetical order under the regular Democratic column on the June ballot.
The endorsement vote tally was close with Mr. Gusciora winning the vote total with 41 ballots, or 50.6 percent, and Mr. O’Neill with 35 ballots, or 43.2 percent. There were five votes not to endorse a candidate
Mr. O’Neill won the vote among Princeton Borough residents, with 25 votes to Mr. Gusciora’s 24.
Princeton Township members of the organization are allowed to vote to endorse borough candidates and vice versa.
Princeton Borough Councilman Roger Martindell, who serves on the PCDO’s executive committee, urged Democrats to pick the no-endorsement option. Doing so would promote heady debate and an open process for all borough residents, Mr. Martindell said.
Both candidates agreed the borough faces daunting challenges, such as demands for affordable housing and the need to maintain a vibrant downtown attractive to both residents and visitors. But each man took a different approach to the issues.
Mr. O’Neill, who quoted his own research papers on the downtown as well as Shakespeare’s "Richard II," expressed concerns that expansion of modest houses into "McMansions" could price out many residents including those in the lowest income groups.
"Whole components of Princeton are disappearing," Mr. O’Neill said.
Mr. Gusciora said he is also concerned with the effects of development, and while he supports Mayor Reed’s and the Borough Council’s decision to proceed with the garage project, the borough must help the struggling merchants deal with parking woes during the construction period.
"We have a lot of merchants saying they will go under," Mr. Gusciora said. He favors a jitney service program to encourage downtown employees to park in remote lots outside the borough and take a shuttle to work.
Several Democrats raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest resulting from Mr. Gusciora serving both as mayor and in the New Jersey Assembly. He also filed a petition Monday to run for re-election to the Assembly.
"You’re going to be voting on issues that directly impact on something in the borough at the expense of the other communities," said Mark Freda, a Fisher Place resident and former Borough Council member.
Mr. Gusciora pointed out that eight of his colleagues in the Assembly are also mayors. He could represent both the borough’s interests and the concerns of his legislature district, Mr. Gusciora said. He added that when West Windsor was in his district, he supported the Princeton-backed design for the Millstone Bypass.