PRINCETON: Two Democrats take action in early council race move

Councilman Bernard P. Miller and former Princeton Township Committeewoman Sue Nemeth announced Monday that they were running for council together in a move that sets up a contested Democratic

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   Council President Bernard P. Miller and former Princeton Township Committeewoman Sue Nemeth announced Monday that they are running for Council together in a move that sets up a contested Democratic primary against incumbent Councilwoman Jo S. Butler.
   Mr. Miller and Ms. Nemeth said they have the support of Mayor Liz Lempert and council members Lance Liverman and Heather H. Howard, a rarity in local politics for sitting council members to endorse people this early in the process.
   Their decision to run together was known mostly to party insiders, although there was speculation that Ms. Nemeth would enter the race for two council seats. Ms. Butler already has said she plans to run for re-election. For his part, Mr. Miller said he had made up to run again on vacation just before Christmas.
   Ms. Nemeth, in a phone interview, said Monday that she has a “great record of success” and is someone who gets things done and focuses on the “larger issues.” Mayor Lempert and Mr. Liverman served with Ms. Nemeth and Mr. Miller during their days together on the Township Committee. At 52, she spent four years on the governing body.
   ”I’ve worked with Sue. She’s a good campaigner,” said Mr. Miller, 84, who served 10 years on Township Committee before joining the council of the merged town last year. He said the two of them are “pretty much” on the same page when it comes to what they believe and how things ought to get done.
   Ms. Butler, in Philadelphia Monday morning, reacted to the news without taking shots at either Mr. Miller or Ms. Nemeth.
   ”This is a democracy. They’re entitled to do whatever it is they want to do,” she said in a phone interview.
   She said she looked forward to a “spirited campaign.” She said she does not plan to have a running mate to oppose them.
   In the interview, Ms. Nemeth avoided any direct criticism of Ms. Butler, who has butted heads with Mayor Lempert and others on council in the past year.
   The Nemeth-Miller side sought to downplay borough vs. township tensions, an issue that Ms. Butler would not touch.
   For his part, Mr. Liverman said he had chosen to endorse two friends who asked for his support. “This is nothing at all negative in regard to Jo,” he said. “I actually like Jo.”For her part, Ms. Butler has the backing of fellow Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller, who predicted that most voters will prefer an “independent council member who is not a rubber stamp.”
    In part, that comment speaks to a tension between two styles of governing that have surfaced in the first year of governing the merged town. Privately, some Democrats from the former Borough said they were never comfortable with the way the Township Committee would zip through meetings without debating and discussing things in the open the way the Borough Council did. Ms. Butler, a former Borough councilwoman like Ms. Crumiller, brought that style with her to consolidated government — something that has bothered Mayor Lempert and her allies. “I think debate and, yes, dissent is important for good government,” Ms. Crumiller said.It is unclear if the political dynamics would hurt the council’s ability to work together in 2014. Mr. Liverman said he hoped they would not.
    “We’re all professionals,” Mayor Lempert said Monday. Ms. Nemeth has sought higher office before. In 2012, she ran against fellow Democrat Marie Corfield in the primary for a special state Assembly election. She lost that contest but has remained active in local Democratic politics.
   Councilman Bernard P. Miller and former Princeton Township Committeewoman Sue Nemeth announced Monday that they were running for council together in a move that sets up a contested Democratic primary against the other incumbent Councilwoman Jo S. Butler.
   Mr. Miller and Ms. Nemeth said they have the support of Mayor Liz Lempert and council members Lance Liverman and Heather H. Howard, a rarity in local politics for sitting council members to endorse people this early in the process.
   ”I’ve worked with Sue to consolidate Princeton, create the Princeton Ridge Preserve, rebuild the Community Park pool complex and negotiate productively with Princeton University. She’s an effective leader who delivers,” Mr. Miller said in a press release announcing the ticket.
   ”Uniting Princeton was our first step in preserving the financial health and small town quality of life in our community. In the coming weeks, we will engage voters throughout the community in discussions of our shared values and vision for the future,” Ms. Nemeth said in the same release.