PACKET EDITORIAL, May 23
By: Packet Editorial
The next mayor of Princeton Borough will almost certainly be chosen not in the Nov. 4 general election but in the June 3 Democratic primary. This lends greater urgency to the contest between Assemblyman Reed Gusciora and Borough Councilman Joseph O’Neill, and obliges the registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters who will decide this race and, with it, the borough’s future leadership to cast their ballots wisely.
We believe both candidates are well qualified to serve as mayor. Mr. Gusciora, 43, is a lawyer by training and a seasoned public official by profession, representing the 15th Legislative District in the state Assembly for the past eight years and chairing the Environment & Solid Waste Committee in the current session. Mr. O’Neill, 69, enjoyed a long and distinguished career in education; he also spent 16 years on the Princeton Regional Planning Board before being appointed to the Borough Council in August 2001, then winning election three months later.
We believe both candidates know the issues well. They speak intelligently about Princeton’s leadership role in addressing regional land-use and transportation issues, about the importance of the borough maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with Princeton University, about the need to retain diversity in housing as the borough approaches buildout. Mr. Gusciora highlights his legislative experience as a problem-solver and mediator, bringing competing parties together to help resolve their differences, as illustrative of his management style. Mr. O’Neill cites papers he has written, including an illuminating 19-page treatise titled "The Once and Future Town," as examples of his thoughtful approach to issues.
We believe both candidates hold values that are consistent with those of borough residents. In Trenton, Mr. Gusciora has introduced progressive legislation on controversial issues ranging from needle exchange to handgun control. On the Planning Board and the Borough Council, Mr. O’Neill has consistently championed policies and programs that advance the cause of social justice.
Where there are differences between Mr. Gusciora and Mr. O’Neill, they are nuanced. As a member of the Borough Council, Mr. O’Neill voted in favor of the controversial downtown redevelopment project. As an assemblyman, Mr. Gusciora didn’t have to take a stand on the project and he’s doing his best as a mayoral candidate to keep it that way, emphasizing instead how he’ll bring a "fresh approach" to the matter (and, in the process, presumably pick up a few votes from project opponents). But when pressed, he applauds what he calls the "mixed-use, smart-growth concept" behind the redevelopment plan, dismisses the alternatives as "undesirable" and properly acknowledges he won’t stop the project if elected.
The biggest difference between the two candidates is the amount of time each is prepared to devote to the office of mayor. Mr. O’Neill would serve full time; Mr. Gusciora would divide his time between Borough Hall and the State House, serving simultaneously as mayor and assemblyman. Whatever one may think about the ethics of dual office-holding (to some it’s an open invitation to conflicts of interest, to others it’s a recipe for bringing home the bacon), it is the defining issue in this campaign.
Princeton Borough has benefited from the services of a full-time mayor for the past 20 years. Internally, the daily presence of the mayor at Borough Hall provides leadership, oversight and continuity to the operation of municipal government; externally, the daily involvement of the mayor in activities ranging from ribbon-cutting photo ops to serious and substantive policy discussions enhances Princeton’s visibility, stature, reputation and influence.
Mr. O’Neill would continue this tradition. Together with his other qualifications and attributes, we believe this makes him the preferred candidate in the Democratic primary.

