Stealing signs shows a weakness

By: centraljersey.com
For the second time in as many weeks, our Rush Holt for Congress sign was stolen on Sept. 12. And the pattern was exactly the same as described in the Sept. 14 Packet: the first time, the entire sign was stolen; the second time, the thief left the skeletal metal frame.
Whoever is doing this must believe that s/he is supporting a candidate not likely to do well in a fair contest.
Perry Leavell Princeton
Why support those who caused problems?
To the editor:
I have been following the upcoming election very closely and have a fundamental problem with the Democrats’ campaign for Montgomery Township Committee. Why should we support those that created the problems we are currently experiencing? Louise Wilson and her team had their chance. It’s time for Montgomery to head in another direction.
During their last several years in control of the Township Committee, the Democrats raised municipal taxes by over 30 percent and increased debt to a shocking high of $63 million. They also burned through most of our surplus (once $19 million and now only $5 million).
Montgomery is a wonderful place to live, but it is getting way too costly. Look around, their are many "for sale" signs in my neighborhood. High taxes are driving people out of Montgomery; this is unacceptable and has to change.
Also, the Democrats have repeatedly ignored the voters’ will by trying to develop the Skillman Village site. In 2008, Ms. Wilson and her team fought to develop the land by creating a "town square" with hundreds of high-density residential and commercial buildings. The project was so far-fetched that not a single developer submitted a bid and it was resoundingly rejected by the voters.
After two elections when many, many residents came out in support of selling the land for a county park, the Democrats again ignored us and unwisely pushed to use a large amount of the land for high-density COAH housing. Even more ludicrous, Ms. Wilson now argues that COAH housing should be built in the remaining dilapidated structures scattered throughout the property. Those buildings have been exposed to the elements for years, likely contain mold and other environmental hazards and certainly could not easily be converted to residential apartments.
Ms. Wilson and the Democrats conveniently ignore that it would take millions of taxpayer dollars to make those buildings habitable, if it is even possible at all. Indeed, it makes no sense to convert those buildings, which are scattered throughout the 280-acre property site. Further, the county has unequivocally stated that it will not buy the property if the township insists, as Ms. Wilson would have us do, on keeping those buildings or otherwise developing high-density COAH housing on the property.
Thus, Ms. Wilson’s plan for high density COAH housing on the Skillman Village site is not only unwise, it would force the county to walk away from the purchase of the land – a purchase that will generate over $14 million for Montgomery. Whose interest does Ms. Wilson really have at heart?
Why should we support the team that caused so many of our current problems? Please join me in voting for common sense and vote for Ed Trzaska and Patricia Graham.
Margaret Windrem Montgomery
‘White hat’ doesn’t fit those in power
To the editor:
It is interesting but sad to see some incumbent members of the Princeton Borough Council trying on the big white hat to look like they’ve been the "good guys" all along in the divisive and inequitable revaluation fiasco.
They sat smugly on the dais when early reports came in that people living in the borough were confronted with a tax burden that has in many cases doubled. Many people took up the cause of the oppressed residents from all walks of life, and the entrenched Council sat quietly by, chanting: Re-appraisal is fair, all is well. The simple fact is that the big white hat doesn’t fit those who would govern you. Try as they may it just too big for them.
The council has ignored the needs of the community for too long, even going so far as to push forward a $6.1 million pool at Community Park as Princeton residents face the real possibility of losing their homes to a skewed and unfair revaluation, and this during one of the worst economic climates ever seen in the United States.
The revaluation mess affects almost all of the many faces of Princeton – lower income families, middle-income families, the elderly and the young and all those in between.
For too long, the one-party council has become the representative of itself, not of the people. It has taken for granted Princeton residents, ironically and especially those in the neighborhoods who can least afford it and most often lend the council their support. Council members expect your vote on Nov. 2, no matter what they have done to you and your families and your homes and lives. What was council’s response when confronted by scores of residents at the recent overflow meeting at Borough Hall? It’s not our fault you’re being forced out of your homes. We didn’t do anything wrong, and, even if we did, we can’t do anything about it. Re-appraisal is fair, all is well.
Well, the residents of Princeton can do something about a council that is shuffling for image repair after the damage to the community has been done. You can emphatically show those who would now portray themselves as good guys that what they did was wrong. On Nov. 2, vote them out, and put a new face on the council. The white hat might even fit. The two opposition candidates will report directly to the people of Princeton, and will help set matters straight.
It is time to redo the revaluation, and it is time to redo Borough Council.
Roland Foster Miller Princeton
Mr. Miller is a Republican candidate for Princeton Borough Council.