PRINCETON: Lempert gets PCDO mayoral endorsement

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   Township Committeewoman Liz Lempert received the endorsement of the largest turnout in the history of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) for mayor of the consolidated Princeton on Sunday night.
   Borough Councilman Kevin Wilkes, the second candidate for mayor, did not receive enough support for the organization’s recommendation.
   On Monday morning, Mr. Wilkes confirmed he is still “very interested in running for mayor” and will see what happens at the municipal Democratic Committee meeting tonight.
   To receive organization’s endorsement, a candidate had to receive 60 percent of the votes, which with 345 ballots counted in the mayors race, was 207. For a recommendation, 40 percent of the votes, or 138 votes were required.
   Ms. Lempert had the support of 212, or 61.4 percent of the votes and Mr. Wilkes had 120 or 34.8 percent of the votes.
   Thirteen ballots, or 3.8 percent, were marked no endorsement.
   ”This is a record turnout from all of you and we have a record number of seats up for election for our brand new Princeton consolidated town,” said Dan Preston, PCDO president. He also noted that at least one third of the packed house at the Jewish Center was new members coming for the first time to make their voices heard.
   This is a difference from last year, when no endorsement was given because the party split between the three candidates running for the open mayor’s seat after former Mayor Mildred Trotman suddenly decided not to seek reelection right before endorsement time.
   At last year’s endorsement meeting, incumbent Borough Councilman David Goldfarb collected enough votes for a recommendation from the PCDO, but ultimately ended up dropping out of the race. The mayoral candidate, Yina Moore, had 19 percent of the PCDO’s support last year, with 22 votes of the members present.
   Mayor Moore chose not to run for reelection as mayor, instead she decided to seek a council seat and in a surprising turn, had not enough support for even a recommendation, only collecting 27 percent of the votes.
   This year nearly 400 people crammed into the main room to hear the candidates speak and cast 355 ballots.
   Ms. Lempert, who emphasized she would work to make sure consolidation is a success, pointed out she helped lead the Unite Princeton campaign and worked on President Barack Obama’s New Jersey campaign.
   ”I’m up front and people know I’ll do what I say and I’m grateful to be the only candidate to be running for mayor to have the support of Township Committee and Borough Council members,” she said. “I hope you’ll join with me in creating a Princeton that is sustainable, a place where neighborhoods retain their character and have a voice in the decision-making process and a place where residents can volunteer their talents to make our town great.”
   Mr. Wilkes said he would work for an efficient, cost-effective merger of the police departments, preserve the fire department as an all volunteer force, promote economic development and improve the streetscapes while controlling spending, which was consolidation’s promise.
   ”We will implement community planning by the people, not for the people,” he said. “I will engage our academic and institutional partners early and often with candor and transparency.”
   The first question they answered was what kind of guiding principals would they follow to establish a productive working relationship with Princeton University.
   Mr. Wilkes, who is a Princeton alumnus, said he would work not only with the university, but with the other institutions as they plan their expansions.
   Ms. Lempert said she helped the township develop a strategy for dealing with the university and figuring out what the fair share contribution should be working with the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee, and she would use that methodology in dealing with the university.
   The next question asked what the candidates would do to ensure a vital downtown business district.
   Ms. Lempert said conversations with the merchants are key as well as keeping the uniqueness of the downtown. Mr. Wilkes would like to improve the streetscape design downtown, which would include improved sidewalks, lighting and cleanliness.
   To make Princeton more affordable, Mr. Wilkes would like control taxes by controlling spending, creating leaner departments while improving services.
   Ms. Lempert would take advantage of consolidation to move tax rate down and pass savings onto taxpayers. She would like to invest and build more affordable housing, provide services for those that are struggling, and improve community infrastructure.
   Then the candidates were asked what their vision is for Princeton in 2025.
   Ms. Lempert would like to see a sustainable Princeton where it easy to bike and walk, but no so radically different from it is today. Mr. Wilkes sees a utopia for families with social equity with rail transit to Nassau Street with remote parking strategies and better managed sidewalks.
   Selecting a lost cause was the first question from the audience.
   Mr. Wilkes said he is optimistic and stubborn and not willing to grant a lost cause. “It’s hard to say, I think we need to get busy on everything right now,” he said.
   One issue Ms. Lempert hopes becomes a lost cause is talk of a special improvement district proposal in the downtown. “The problem now is it’s not being driven by the merchants,” she said. “It’s being forced upon them by the government and that’s not the way the government should operate.”
   The 2009 revaluation was the next issue the candidates tackled discussing whether it should be redone to address perceived flaws.
   Ms. Lempert said the revaluation should not be done and officials have been tracking sales to address accuracy and homes have been selling close to what they were assessed at and the municipalities have implemented a compliance plan to prevent another revaluation like the 2009 revaluation.
   Mr. Wilkes said a new revaluation could be a good idea and the municipality should consider reexamining it in the near future.
   The next question dealt with the candidates’ feelings on charter schools, particularly those that deal with giftedness and language immersion versus those that segregate based on race or religion.
   Mr. Wilkes supports free and open education and Princeton’s “outstanding” school system and wants to address problems.
   ”I would prefer to see a strategy that addresses improving the problems at hand in the schools that exist instead of creating a new parallel, different system,” he said. “I understand we have an excellent charter school here in the community and I’m happy for that, but in general if it were left to my decision, I would support our existing public education structure.”
   Ms. Lempert, a founding member of the grassroots public school advocacy group Save Our Schools-N.J., has worked to fix the states “broken charter school laws.” She said one of the fundamental problems in New Jersey is that the public schools are funded by property taxes and the charter approval process is at the state level.
   What the candidates would do to alleviate the hardships of the Hispanic community was the last question.
   Ms. Lempert said Human Services have been working on the problem and wage theft is an issue that this department and the police have been working on. She hopes the consolidated police department can revive community policing to rebuild the trust of the people who need help.
   Mr. Wilkes, who initially answered the question in Spanish, said he carries the causes and rights of the Latin American community deep in his heart. He said he has been working with the Hispanic community to work on the issues such as wage theft and inattentive landlords.
   Deborah McMillian of the Hightstown chapter of the League of Women Voters moderated the debate.