LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Oct. 27
WW not responsible for phone surveys
To the editor:
Over the past few days, West Windsor Township municipal offices have received inquiries from residents about phone surveys that are apparently being conducted in the area. Questions that have been asked in the surveys range from issues such as the West Windsor Arts Council, the proposed transit village, opinions about candidates in upcoming elections, etc.
Please be advised that the survey is being conducted without the knowledge or support of West Windsor Township. Should there be any questions, residents are advised to contact the West Windsor Township administration department at (609) 799-2400.
Christopher R. Marion
Business Administrator
West Windsor Township
Clarksville Road
West Windsor
Open-space preservation is cooperative effort
To the editor:
On behalf of Friends of Princeton Open Space, we greatly appreciated Carolyn Foote Edelmann’s article (The Packet, Oct. 24) about our natural resources manager, Stephen Hiltner, which also discussed the history and accomplishments of FOPOS.
I would like to point out, however, that while FOPOS was the only nonprofit involved in such projects as Turning Basin Park, Woodfield Reservation and Mountain Lakes Preserve, it was a partner with others in some of the projects mentioned in Ms. Edelmann’s article.
The acquisition of a conservation easement on the lands of the Institute for Advanced Study was a joint project with Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and Delaware & Raritan Greenway, Inc., which was started with funding from FOPOS and the Watershed Association. D&R Greenway was the lead organization in the preservation of Greenway Meadows Park and Coventry Farm, projects to which FOPOS contributed $300,000 and $100,000, respectively. We value greatly the assistance and cooperation of organizations like these in preserving land in Princeton.
We hope your article will inspire members of the community to join Steve Hiltner on the nature walk he is leading in Mountain Lakes Preserve (which FOPOS has adopted pursuant to the Adopt-A-Park program and where we are headquartered) this Saturday at 9 a.m., starting from the Community Park North parking lot. The walk will lead to the newly completed boardwalk across the wetlands at the southern end of Coventry Farm, for which FOPOS contributed grant funds from the J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Charitable Trust. The boardwalk offers spectacular views, Steve’s encyclopedic knowledge and enthusiasm are infectious, and he loves to answer questions.
Wendy L. Mager
President
Friends of Princeton Open Space
Cherry Hill Road
Princeton
Spectacular pieces exhibited at gallery
To the editor:
Many thanks for the article on my Latin American art collection now being shown at the Arts Council gallery in the Princeton Shopping Center (The Packet, Oct. 20).
Maria Evans, the gallery manager, correctly stated that I wanted "to show that Latin America is not just Mexico." This aspect is important to me. Two pieces are especially compelling. In one, a stunning Cuban woman holds a small bird. The second is a 50-inch Haitian mermaid, carved out of black material that used to be a discarded oil barrel. These barrels are the only material Haitian artists can afford and the results are spectacular.
Please come and see.
Lucy Mackenzie
Franklin Avenue
Princeton
Annual book sale draws crowd to library
To the editor:
On behalf of the Friends of the Princeton Public Library, we thank everybody who donated books to our Annual Book Sale and everybody who flocked to the library’s Community Meeting Room to buy those books. You made the sale the most successful in our history. We thank you for helping the library buy new books with the sale’s proceeds.
We invite everybody to our next annual sale in 2007. Until then, a wide selection of books at amazingly low prices can be found on our ongoing book sale shelves located to the right of the main staircase on the library’s first floor. Right now, you can help build back our depleted stock by donating books in good condition. Ring the bell at the library’s deliveries door on the driveway from Wiggins Street for assistance and our thanks.
Eric Monberg and Bruce Kemp
Co-chairs
Stuart Mitchner
Coordinator
Annual Book Sale
Princeton Public Library
Witherspoon Street
Princeton
Some agriculture ‘good,’ some ‘bad’
To the editor:
I spent my formative years on the type of farm New Jersey politicians love 120 acres of bucolic open space with hay fields, a stream and pastures for horses, cows and sheep. In the barns we had pigs, turkeys or chickens; it varied based upon what 4-H project I happened to be participating in at the time.
In the summer everything was green except for the red ink. In fact, the farm existed only with support from my father’s law practice. This type of "gentleman farming" looks great to those passing by on country roads and on township seals. In New Jersey, this would be considered "good agriculture."
While learning about agriculture on a small scale, I also learned about the sustainable, profitable kind that employs people, supports families, creates a product for consumers and preserves open space. Politicians, while saying they want to preserve viable agriculture, cringe at this "bad agriculture" it creates smells, the barns may not be weathered wood boards painted Lapham Red, God forbid it actually draws customers and requires a parking lot. Worst of all, it uses water.
In Montgomery Township, there are examples of both bad and good agriculture that don’t square with logic if the politicians really want to preserve agriculture and the related open space. On one hand, the township spends millions of dollars to purchase development rights of a family farm that may best be described as a hobby while, less than a mile away, the township threatens to shutter a successful wholesale and retail nursery that employs dozens and supports families. Some in the township administration believe that "retail" is in conflict with farming unless that means tomatoes and corn sold from a stand on the side of the road. If they would rather buy their plants from a Wal-Mart or Home Depot in our township, I am sure there are developers who would oblige them.
On the other side of the township there is a sod farm that again is considered "bad agriculture" by some. It is my understanding that its owner purchased the property with a development restriction in place, only to later have its water supply threatened. Would the township rather have a dustbowl? If I were the owner of the sod farm, I would argue that the loss of the very necessity to exist should result in the elimination of the deed restriction. The township can’t have it both ways.
The politicians and administrators in Montgomery need to be honest with themselves and the public. They do not really support viable, sustainable agriculture they just want the nice views. They want the postcard idea of a farm without the reality that animals produce smells, plants require water, not all barns are beautiful, farmers need to sell their products to customers and, yes, if you plant a tree you may later cut it down.
Matthew Galvin
Boulder Brook Court
Montgomery
League encourages voter participation
To the editor:
On Nov. 7, New Jersey voters will decide an important race for United States senator following a campaign notable for a lack of in-depth discussion on the issues.
As part of the League of Women Voters efforts to inform and educate voters, we posed a series of 12 written questions to the major party candidates on important position and policy issues. These included the federal budget deficit, the federal government’s role in education and the environment, national security and civil liberties, among others. Candidates were informed that comments directed at or about an opponent would be deleted.
Voters are encouraged to read the candidates’ responses on the League’s Web site www.lwvny.org or request a written copy from the League office (609) 394-3303. Information about the three public questions on the Nov. 7 ballot is also available.
The League encourages all voters to inform themselves on the issues and to vote, either at the polls on Election Day or by absentee ballot.
Danzey Burnham
Executive Director
League of Women Voters of New Jersey
West State Street
Trenton
Pfeifer deserves trust and support
To the editor:
West Windsor’s upcoming election will fill only one seat on the Township Council, but the importance of that seat cannot be overstated as West Windsor plans the most extensive development project in its history. The transit village and town center, for which a design and management team will soon be chosen, will affect everyone in West Windsor and many beyond. For that reason, among others, I plan to vote for Barbara Pfeifer on Nov. 7, and I urge other residents to do so as well.
Thirty years ago, West Windsor government was solidly in the hands of a small, self-perpetuating coterie of farmers, landowners and lawyers. In those days, far-reaching decisions about planning, zoning and land development were made behind closed doors and were often driven by poorly disguised self-interest.
As West Windsor approaches key decisions on the station site and, later, on the Wyeth property, our elected officials and those they appoint to key boards need to invite participation and enable communication. Ms. Pfeifer’s opponent seems to invoke his ties to the "good old days" as his best credential, while she cites a strong record of proactive community engagement, well-honed management skills and a solid grasp of the diverse community West Windsor is today.
We do not know where the decisions to be made soon will take us a decade from now, but we can and should look carefully at those who will lead the process and ask who will reach out, listen and consider the best interests of all. I believe that Barbara Pfeifer will do so. She deserves our trust and support.
Norman McNatt
Scott Avenue
West Windsor
Anklowitz stands for open government
To the editor:
Over the past 18 years in many capacities, I have had the pleasant opportunity to interface with the residents of West Windsor. They are indeed an intelligent lot. It has taken years to create a sense of community and the defining moment of identity is now in motion with the proposed development of a transit village centered around the Princeton Junction train station.
Opposition to open government, with decisions made behind closed doors, is clearly not in the best interest of those residents whose lives these decisions will affect. For all those who have labored over the years to create an open government, my applause.
With the upcoming West Windsor council election, we need an independent thinker, someone who understands the community’s desire for open government. That someone is Will Anklowitz who supports the necessity for community input in decision making. He is a step in the right direction. Vote for Will on Election Day.
Tom Crane
Acadia Court
West Windsor
Pfeifer has vision for WW’s future
To the editor:
Barbara Pfeifer is a leader. We need Barbara Pfeifer for West Windsor Township Council because our vision of safer roads, calmer traffic, fairer tax burdens, greater open space and superior community involvement are formidable goals within our grasp. Demonstrated by her career on Wall Street, contributions on the Planning Board and decisions on our Township Council, Barbara has the courage and commitment to hold on to our vision and transform it to a sparkling reality. I support Barbara Pfeifer for council because she listens for good ideas and looks for ways to make bright ideas better.
Barbara Pfeifer speaks with her legacy in mind. Great leaders take the road less traveled so that we now enjoy the gift of their struggles. Our community, our friends and our family need such a leader. Barbara is that leader. Her decisions and public comments are intended to withstand the test of time.
During the Oct. 5 public debate at our senior center, I asked Barbara to provide an example of how she has made an unpopular decision that significantly benefited West Windsor. Barbara responded: I stood up for an issue regarding ethical government, and felt so strongly about it that I left one meeting to make my point.
Barbara Pfeifer has built her home with warmth and family values. Vote for Barbara Pfeifer to build West Windsor Township.
Michael Huey
Devonshire Drive
West Windsor
Somerset GOP adheres to fair and open process
To the editor:
Voters should support Freeholder Rick Fontana and former Raritan Councilman Jack Ciattarelli for Somerset County freeholder. They want a ban on "pay-to-play" practices, a ban on the practice of accepting money from outside county political party organizations and reduced contribution limits for all candidates at all levels of government.
I applaud Somerset County government for strictly adhering to the "fair and open process," as defined by the state Department of Community Affairs. It states that contracts shall be publicly advertised, awarded under a process that provides for public solicitation of proposals or qualifications and awarded under criteria established in writing prior to solicitation. This process assures the awarding of contracts is based on qualifications and cost, not political influence.
The practice of accepting money from other county organizations and PACs, known as "wheeling," hides from the public who the real contributors are. Somerset County Republicans have not engaged in this practice; they provide full disclosure and are completely transparent you know exactly who their contributors are.
It seems hypercritical for Democratic Somerset County freeholder candidates Louise Wilson and Dennis Sullivan to attack county Republicans for campaign finance when, in fact, the Somerset County Democratic Organization has received most of its contributions from the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, and from the PAC of former Democratic Sen. John Lynch, who recently pleaded guilty to corruption charges. Many recipients of his PAC’s contributions have had the good sense to return the money, but not the Wilson and Sullivan campaign.
Fred Gladstone
Dutchtown-Harlingen Road
Montgomery
Wilson, Sullivan will enforce financial discipline
To the editor:
The Republican candidates for Township Committee in Montgomery have proposed (again) a cap on municipal spending. Their cap would limit spending to the previous year’s budget, plus adjustments for inflation and population increase.
I oppose this proposal for a number of reasons mostly because it’s unnecessary. Municipal spending in Montgomery this year is down from last year. If this cap had been in effect for the past five years, it would have allowed more spending than has actually taken place. So why should the township tie its own hands with a self-imposed cap? It’s clearly a politically motivated proposal a solution in search of a problem.
I do agree, however, that the proposed formula provides a quick way to spot budgetary excess. If budgets regularly increase more than population and inflation, that should raise a red flag about spending.
While Montgomery’s recent municipal budgets pass this test easily, Somerset County’s budgets fail it miserably. Since 2001, Somerset County’s population has increased by 7 percent, and inflation has totaled 15 percent. During the same period, the county’s budget has increased a whopping 34 percent. County spending in excess of the theoretical "cap" level has totaled more than $55 million in five years.
County spending is out of control, and it shows clearly in our property-tax bills. In Montgomery, the county portion of our property taxes is up 34 percent while the municipal portion has remained essentially unchanged. In actual dollars, the owner of the average home now pays an additional $517 in county taxes, compared with a slight decrease in municipal taxes.
Clearly, something is seriously amiss in Somerset County. The entrenched freeholders part of a continuing dynasty in charge since the 1970s make spending decisions behind closed doors in political caucus. Tens of millions of dollars worth of non-competitive contracts are handed out to Republican contributors with no discussion at public meetings. There is no sense of accountability, as the continued election of Republican candidates seems automatic.
The freeholders will continue their big-spending habits until voters say "enough is enough" and elect new leaders who are willing to bring fiscal sanity to the county government.
In serving their respective municipalities, Louise Wilson and Dennis Sullivan have demonstrated the budgetary discipline that is sorely lacking in the county. Our property-tax bills say it’s time for a change. I urge voters to bring fiscal discipline and two-party government back to Somerset County by electing our own Mayor Louise Wilson and her running mate, Dennis Sullivan, to the county Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Nickole Forbes
Griggstown Road
Montgomery
Caliguire, Geslak will rein in spending
To the editor:
A lot has been said on these pages about how nice all the Montgomery Township Committee candidates are. And I agree. They are seen here and there, at the school bus stops and ball fields. In Township Committee meetings, however, only two or so residents ever show up to see their elected officials in action. This election warrants your serious consideration because it takes more than "nice" to run a township.
There are five committee members, but it only takes three votes to carry the day. Mayor Wilson and Committeewoman Cecilia Birge and Karen Wintress are joined at the voting hip and virtually vote as one. There is no dissention in this group. John Warms, a fellow Democrat, bless him, offers the occasional opposition. That leaves Mark Caliguire to fight for you. A vote for Ms. Birge and Brad Fay will totally end discussions or opposing views.
Democratic flyers tout no recent tax increases and minimal spending compared to the schools. The reality is that we have been on an expensive vacation but the credit card bill just hasn’t arrived yet. You are not told that spending actually increased 45 percent in the past four years. You can keep taxes down by raiding the rainy day "surpluses" to depletion. Bonds are a great tool, like refinancing your house, so rather than paying now for today’s roadwork, just get a bond and have the taxpayers pay it later. We, the taxpayers, are on the hook for plenty of bonds. Watch future tax bills.
Take Sylvan Lake at the North Princeton Developmental Center. Mark Caliguire cast the sole vote against issuing a $5.5 million bond for its restoration. The idea is to clean up the lake to help entice a developer to take over the entire Skillman Village project. This is on top of the $20 million or so taxpayers will be responsible for with NPDC. The risk of undertaking this project could have been delayed until a developer is found. The Donald Trump developers of the world can readily visualize a finished product before a shovel hits the ground. Yes, we all want to see a revitalized Skillman Village, but the taxpayers are now on the hook and may never see this money again.
These are critical times for Montgomery. We cannot blame the schools for the rising property taxes without questioning why we have not improved our commercial tax base. We build the Otto Kaufman Senior Center as property taxes drive those same seniors out of town.
Mark Caliguire and Walter Geslak are not only business owners, but they have the business sense we need. This Township Committee needs serious, sensible and open debate that it now lacks. Yes, they are all nice people and share many values of how to develop this town, but only Mark Caliguire and Walter Geslak will provide the missing discourse and balance and keep your wallet in mind.
Be sure to vote, and remember those who gave us the 7 percent sales tax.
Eric Weitze
Viburnum Drive
Montgomery
Numbers illustrate fiscal responsibility
To the editor:
The Republican candidates for Montgomery Township Committee are railing against municipal spending, but the numbers they give are simply wrong.
In advertising and in articles, they allege that municipal spending is up 45 percent over the past three years. Surprised to hear this, I took the time to go to the township Web site (www.montgomery.nj.us) and looked at the budget presentations. I urge you to do the same.
What I found is that spending over the past three years is not up anywhere near that amount. Indeed, spending is not up nearly that much over the past four years, nor even over the past five years. There appears to be no basis in fact for this central message of their campaign.
This may explain why the solution they offer would do nothing to reduce spending. They advocate a cap on spending equal to local population growth plus inflation. I looked up those numbers, and found that if their cap had been adopted in the year 2000, Montgomery’s fast-growing population, added to the rate of inflation over that period, would have allowed the Township to spend fully $600,000 more in 2006 than is in the actual budget.
While I doubt that these two candidates seriously advocate higher municipal spending, people should know that township budget is today within the range they deem acceptable. Further, their proposed spending cap is a solution that is in search of a problem.
For continued fiscal responsibility at the municipal level, I recommend that voters re-elect Deputy Mayor Cecilia Birge, and also elect her very qualified running mate, Brad Fay, on Nov. 7.
Mark Gillan
Blue Spring Road
Montgomery
Holt bill would provide tax relief for seniors
To the editor:
As a full time Realtor, I am acutely aware of the implications of the housing affordability crisis that is currently affecting New Jersey’s families. I have seen firsthand the net migration from more expensive counties to more affordable counties and to outside our state as prices increased dramatically from 2000 through 2005.
While home prices may now be moderating, increases in our property-tax rates are not and salaries have not been increasing at a pace that matches increases in housing costs. Most profoundly affected are our fixed-income seniors with cost-of-living increases indexed to inflation rates.
While the New Jersey state budget remains a challenge for our governor and Legislature to resolve, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt has stepped up to provide relief for seniors. Rep. Holt has introduced legislation that would give a federal tax cut to seniors who pay high property taxes.
I’m glad we have a congressman who understands what is important to the families and seniors of New Jersey, and he has my support.
Brenda Probasco
Titus Road
Lambertville
Bush/Ferguson policy leaves troops in harm’s way
To the editor:
Thanks to The Packet (Oct. 20) for showing the clear differences between Mike Ferguson and Linda Stender concerning U.S. policy in Iraq.
Rep. Ferguson showed just how out of touch with reality he is when he listed his "requirements that should be met before troops are withdrawn (from Iraq) ensuring political stability, assuring that Iraqi forces are able to secure the country and creating a sound economic infrastructure."
The United States has been in Iraq longer than we were participants in World War II, yet we have made little or no progress in these three areas. Political stability? The sectarian violence gets worse every month. Iraqi forces securing the country? It looks more like the various militias are training for a civil war. Sound economic infrastructure? After more than four years, we can’t even provide a steady supply of electricity to Iraq’s cities.
The reality is that the Bush administration never committed nearly enough troops to meet even the modest goals outlined by Rep. Ferguson. Our troops there are so hunkered down they can’t begin to make meaningful progress. What makes Mike Ferguson believe that after all this time our undersized military contingent is suddenly going to figure out how to work miracles in Iraq?
It is becoming obvious that the true Bush/Ferguson policy is simply to leave our troops in harm’s way for another two years and to let the next U.S. president clean up the mess and take the political heat for admitting the failure and withdrawing the troops. This approach is unconscionable.
After more than four years, it’s obvious that what we are doing in Iraq isn’t working, so we should change course now. This is one example of the common-sense change that Linda Stender will bring to Washington.
Clifford C. Wilson Jr.
Hollow Road
Montgomery
Stender will fight for access to health care
To the editor:
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women ages 35 and older. It is also among the most treatable types of cancer if caught early enough through a mammogram. However, in minority and lower-class communities, mammograms are not readily accessible or affordable, leaving many women facing a higher risk of not being diagnosed in time for breast cancer treatment to take effect.
Yet Rep. Michael Ferguson refused to support measures brought before his committee in the House to require clinicians to provide equal access to mammograms regardless of ethnicity or socio-economic status.
Rep. Ferguson’s opponent, Assemblywoman Linda Stender, believes the battle against breast cancer must be fought within all levels of the community. She will fight to pass legislation to provide free mammograms to those unable to afford one thereby assuring women are not denied the opportunity for early breast cancer detection and thus receive potentially life-saving treatment. In Congress, she will continue to advocate for access to breast cancer prevention and treatment options for all women.
Join me in sending Linda Stender to Congress this November, a strong women looking out for us all.
Louise Reilly
Barrington Road
Montgomery
Stender advocates common-sense security
To the editor:
For more than five years, the Republican administration has been conjuring up the specter of a "defenseless America" if Democrats are elected to govern. Although it is the one of the biggest lies in American political history, it has worked well enough to keep them in office and in control so they could make America "safe" their way.
How have they done? Frankly, pretty poorly. In some respects, it is difficult to imagine a worse performance. Our military is now bogged down in an unnecessary quagmire that President Bush concedes will be cleaned up by someone else. We have spent more per capita protecting Wyoming, which has not been threatened, than the New York/New Jersey area, which has. Our ports and chemical facilities, important aspects of New Jersey’s economy, are still not secure, and the administration has been slow to establish any programs that would ensure that cargo shipped here is safe.
Every two years, we get the politics of fear from these leaders, who keep trying to scare Americans into voting for them, instead of doing something meaningful. Mike Ferguson’s own campaign illustrates this tactic: He pushes a fear-tinged rhyme instead of any real ideas, programs or accomplishments.
What makes this possible? A complacent and compliant Congress, dominated by the president’s own party and composed of Bush back-benchers like New Jersey’s undistinguished Rep. Ferguson, who has consistently followed the president’s lead and backed policies that do little to lessen our nation’s susceptibility to attack, instead of leading the effort to promote policies that would do so. Our ports are still almost completely susceptible as are others around the county. We spend more on the war every day in Iraq than we spend in the entire year protecting our ports.
While Rep. Ferguson’s Web site touts his "fight" for security and the 7th District and lists the sums he has brought home for that effort, the total sums ($5 million over five years) seem paltry and the effort consists primarily of backing the Patriot Act, which is arguably the largest assault on the our constitutional freedoms ever concocted in our history. Homeland security as practiced by Rep. Ferguson and his Republican fellows is not New Jersey security. We here are not safer under this administration and its overly uncritical Congress.
It is time for common-sense security. Linda Stender knows how particularly vulnerable we in New Jersey are to attacks on our ports, airports and chemical facilities, which are in close proximity to most of our state’s population of over 8.7 million. In Congress, Ms. Stender will work to implement and enforce the 9/11 Commission recommendations in their entirety. With Linda in Congress, we will all be safer. Vote Stender for Congress on Nov. 7. It’s past time for a change.
Steven P. Heckel
Tall Cedar Court
Montgomery
Stender is in step with district’s views
To the editor:
Rep. Michael Ferguson does not trust women or science. By consistently advocating against abortion and stem-cell research, he, along with the Bush administration, is leading the fight to restrict women’s rights and the Republican war against science.
In Congress, Rep. Ferguson has one of the worst voting records on a woman’s right to choose. He voted for legislation banning partial-birth abortions, even in the cases of rape, incest or death to the mother. His anti-choice record has earned him a 100 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee. But that is little surprise, as Rep. Ferguson has publicly supported a constitutional amendment banning abortion even in the case of rape or incest.
From his voting record, it is clear that Rep. Ferguson does not trust women to make choices concerning their bodies. It is also clear that he is out of touch with the opinions and views of the citizens of New Jersey and of his district on the right to choose and stem-cell research.
His challenger, Assemblywoman Linda Stender, unequivocally supports a woman’s right to choose. A sitting assemblywoman, she has sponsored legislation that prohibits pharmacists from refusing to dispense prescription drugs solely on philosophical, moral or religious objections. In Congress, she will fight to protect access to safe, legal contraceptives and abortion services for all women here and abroad, as she believes abortions should be safe, legal and most importantly rare.
She will also fight to ensure that scientific hopes for cures through stem-cell research are adequately funded and that the science on global warming, stem-cell research and evolution will not be distorted by the likes of Rep. Ferguson and his Republican allies, like the president, in their war against science.
This Republican Congress has been relentless in its fight to strip women of the ability to make choices about their bodies and in its efforts to fight scientific advances with false information and disingenuous rhetoric. It is time to send a message to Congress about women’s rights and the importance of funding scientific advancements, like stem-cell research, for a better future for our children. It is important to send a message that we will not go back on women’s rights and on science and support Linda Stender.
Richard Shapiro
Route 601
Montgomery

