By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR Just under the municipal filing deadline, a third candidate has officially entered the race to become mayor of West Windsor Township.
Pete Weale, 58, of Penns Neck, submitted about 180 petitions for his candidacy to the township clerk’s office on Thursday afternoon, ahead of the 4 p.m. deadline.
Deputy Municipal Clerk Gay Huber confirmed shortly after 4 p.m. that he had a sufficient number of signatures from West Windsor residents who are registered voters. A total of 166 was required, she said.
”I’m delighted. I’m thrilled,” he said. “I simply owe it to all the people who have taken the leap of faith (to sign the petitions).”
The mayor’s spot as well as two council seats will be on the ballot for the municipal election May 12. The other two candidates for mayor are Council President Charlie Morgan and incumbent Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.
Mr. Weale commended the men for their public service to date.
”I’d just like to pursue a slightly different agenda,” he said. “I vowed from the outset that I’ll have no part in acrimony.”
A 25-year township resident, Mr. Weale said the township’s focus for too long has been on redevelopment, and he wants to see action in other areas.
”I think the township has been derelict in many of the quality-of-life issues,” he said.
He decided to run earlier this month after the council workshop on the redevelopment plan lasted past midnight. It was a prime example, he said, of the inefficiency of the governing body. Such meetings make it impossible for the community to participate in the discussion, he said.
”You can’t get good professional people if they go in for marathon meetings,” he said. “We cannot expect people to go do that.”
A fiscal conservative, he said he would control massive taxes that drive residents out of the community. He compared the redevelopment plan to a “Trojan horse,” bringing unintended consequences to the township when all residents wanted was an improved Main Street along Route 571 and parking for commuters.
A regular at the public comment sessions of Township Council and the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education meetings, Mr. Weale said he is tired of his suggestions being ignored by the governing body.
He is perhaps most notorious for his complaints against lawn signs that clutter the township. In 2006, he and another resident brought 50 lawn signs into the council chambers during a meeting, causing Mr. Morgan to walk out of the meeting.
Fittingly, in this election, he has asked the other candidates to submit to a moratorium on roadside campaign signs.
Mr. Weale is a semi-retired corporate manufacturing professional, who moved to the area to work for United Technologies in Manhattan. He grew up in Corning, N.Y., and holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Cornell University.
“”“”Mr. Weale’s campaign Web site can be found at: http://mysite.verizon.net/michaeljohnr/pete4mayor.htm.