CANDIDATES FORUM, May 3
Alison Miller
Mayoral candidate,
West Windsor
West Windsor is a vibrant community with a growing sense of its own strength, creativity and unique identity. Three challenges face us: how to find ways to express and celebrate our sense of community, how to deal with development of regional impact in the Route 1 Corridor and how to control taxes so we can continue to afford to live here.
I support a cultural and arts center, a nature center, expansion of our senior center (with extended hours and shared use with teenagers), completion of the sidewalk, bicycle and recreational trails network as laid out by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force, of which I am a member, and construction of athletic facilities in our parks for use by children and adults. I support seeking teen involvement in developing programs for teens. I applaud the volunteers who are responsible for the farmers’ market, the bike fest and the programs put on by the arts council.
We need to move quickly on safety improvements on our roads and sidewalks, and we need public input to help us identify trouble spots before they become tragedy spots. We need to turn Route 571 in Princeton Junction into a village main street. We need to make sure that proposed development in the Route 1 area is accompanied by transportation improvements that provide necessary access to new development without overwhelming existing development with new traffic.
I am a certified planner. I have used my planning expertise to craft ordinances for West Windsor that preserve greenbelt, require commercial developers to create affordable housing, set minimum areas for affordable-housing units and regulate neon lighting. I have been a member of the League of Municipalities’ Legislative Committee for six years, and have been a panelist at the league’s conference and had an opinion piece published in the league’s magazine. I have represented West Windsor at the Penns Neck Area Roundtable and the Central Jersey TransportationForum, standing up for the preservation of older neighborhoods and the need for regional tax-sharing legislation to accompany regional planning initiatives, so that municipalities in which new development is clustered to preserve other municipalities do not bear the burden of providing services to what would have been a regional population alone.
I have spent the last 13 years serving West Windsor as a volunteer 10 as a member of Township Council. I have honed leadership skills, communication skills and government skills. I am decisive; I know when and how to compromise, when and how to say yes, and when and how to say no. And I know how to get things done.
I am running for mayor on a team with David Siegel and George Borek for Township Council. Together we bring new leadership and fresh ideas to West Windsor. I ask for your votes for all three of us on May 10.
George Borek
Township Council candidate,
West Windsor
After reading the letter from Marvin Gardner, Franc Gambatese and Fu-Grand Lin (The Packet, April 29), I feel I must respond.
First and foremost, I stand by the statements I made regarding my interview with the mayor and his campaign team. I agreed to meet with them because the mayor had acknowledged and had seemed to appreciate my interest in running for council two years earlier. I cannot speak for anyone else who met with the group. I truly would like to believe that no one else was asked to be a yes person. I was shocked, dismayed and disappointed when that occurred. I, however, can only speak from my own experience. Mr. Gardener specifically asked me to be a "yes man." I am willing to take a polygraph test anytime and would ask that Mr. Gardner, the mayor and the other people in the room agree to do the same.
I wanted to run for council because I felt issues important to my young family were not being addressed and because when I talked to people, many were disenchanted with the actions of the current township government. I believed then, as I do now, that my 20 years dealing with a large city government is a tremendous asset for me to bring to our smaller community.
I also need to tell you that I always do what I believe is best for the community. When I was on the Jersey City Zoning Board, there were two occasions when it was known that the mayor wanted us to vote a certain way. Both times, I did not feel the mayor’s position was right, and voted against it. I have also lobbied before the state and federal legislatures and have testified before the New Jersey Assembly. Contrary to the statement in the letter, I have substantial experience, all which I hope to be able to use for the benefit of West Windsor.
Finally, contrary to the allegations made in the letter, I have always showed respect for the mayor and others in his group. Mudslinging is never necessary. It is not something I would do. I would never stoop to such a level. I do, however, believe that the citizens have a right to the truth so they can make an informed decision. If I had said nothing about what I was asked in the interview, I would feel as if I were being dishonest with everyone, including myself. I believe in winning on the merits and will leave that decision to the voters of West Windsor.