By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
Patrick Simon, a borough resident, will be running for the new consolidated council and seeking the Princeton Community Democratic Organizations’ endorsement next month.
He was inspired to run by his involvement with the Joint Shared Services Consolidation Commission over the past 18 months.
”It’s something that’s been in the back of my mind to do someday for a long time,” he said on Wednesday evening after the Joint Shared Services Consolidation Commission meeting. “The work with the commission, I really enjoyed the public service aspect of it and the outreach. I feel like having worked on the commission it’s a logical thing for me to take on — consolidation and making it real and following the road map and making sure that peoples fears as to what could go wrong don’t come true.”
Successful consolidation isn’t a “slam dunk” for Mr. Simon, who said that it is possible to lose the local voice throughout the process and overestimate the benefits.
”I want to make sure the concerns of the citizens are realized,” he said. “I feel like I can play a role in doing that on the council.”
Serving on the commission gave him a sense of giving back to the community and he really enjoyed working with his fellow Princetonians, especially one-on-one and in small groups.
”It took me a while to get acclimated to commission meetings,” said the 47-year-old Mr. Simon. “People are very genuine in their concerns, they are talking about their homes, their neighborhoods and what makes Princeton real for them. I like having those conversations.”
He will keep having those conversations as he continues with consolidation, serving on the finance subcommittee of the Transition Task Force.
Living in Princeton since 2001, he is a freight transportation systems and management consultant.
”If I get elected, I’m not the kind of person who has to have his hands in everything,” said Mr. Simon. “So we will figure out with the other council people who is best to do what. I’d think I’d be suited to work on the finance side and work on the budget and bring that to the council and the public.”
The top issues facing Princeton are consolidation, emergency management and keeping Princeton affordable and keeping costs under control, said Mr. Simon.

