Mayor Trotman easily defeats challenger Kim Pimley in Democratic Party contest
By: Nick Norlen
Incumbent Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman defeated newcomer Kim Pimley in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, the first contested Democratic mayoral primary race in several years.
According to unofficial results released by the borough clerk’s office Wednesday, Mayor Trotman garnered 686 votes Tuesday, with Ms. Pimley receiving 357.
Approximately 18 percent of registered voters participated in the primary.
Mayor Trotman celebrated with supporters at Hunan Chinese Restaurant on Witherspoon Street Tuesday night.
"I’m very excited," she said, noting her belief that voters chose her based on her experience.
"I think they saw some of the things that I have been doing over the past 21 years," she said. "I have been around for all of these years. And while people do move in and move away, most of the people know that I have been around long enough to know a bit about how government works, what you need to do, the steps you need to take, the processes that are necessary to make decisions."
Mayor Trotman credited her victory to her ability to mobilize her loyal base of supporters.
She won in eight out of nine districts.
Ms. Pimley took District 8, where she lives, which is the site of a proposed historic district to which she and many of her neighbors and the financial supporters of her campaign are opposed.
Gathered with supporters at her home on Library Place on Tuesday night, she said she wouldn’t have changed anything about her campaign.
"Certainly more time would help. But I sort of had this epiphany right before the filing, and you can’t really control that," she said. "We were pretty organized. It’s just when somebody has been in place for so many years I think we underestimated … the strength of that. You’re dealing with history."
Mayor Trotman said she will focus on the priorities she emphasized during the campaign, including "keeping the budget rate increase as low as it can possibly be, increasing contributions from Princeton University, completing the redevelopment project," and "doing whatever we can to make sure that Princeton Borough stays as diverse as it can possibly be."
There is no Republican candidate running for mayor in the general election.

