The all-Democrat Princeton Council, facing internal political discord that has broken down on mostly old borough vs. township lines, aired some of its dirty laundry at Monday’s council meeting.
By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The all-Democrat Princeton Council, facing internal political discord that has broken down on mostly old borough vs. township lines, aired some of its dirty laundry at Monday’s council meeting.
Their issue this time was about how Mayor Liz Lempert has assigned council members to their committee assignments, something that has concerned Councilwomen Jenny Crumiller and Jo S. Butler for more than a year. In particular, Ms. Crumiller said she feels that those assignments should be made based either by members’ seniority or through a group consensus, not favoritism.
The mayor sought to address the subject at the meeting on Monday, a topic that was not on the agenda but one that led to a lengthy and at times pointed discussion.
Ms. Crumiller said in a phone interview Tuesday that Mayor Lempert and Council President Bernard P. Miller had promised her in December that officials would meet either in closed session or in a political caucus to discuss committee assignments for 2014. She said it was on that basis that she voted to approve those assignments at the Jan. 2 reorganization meeting.
Mayor Lempert appoints the members, but council has to vote as part of its advise and consent and role. She said Tuesday that she spoke to each council member before Jan.1 to see what each wanted to do.
”There’s plenty of work to be done. Everybody has good assignments,” Mayor Lempert said in a phone interview Tuesday. “And instead of debating about who does what work, I’m hoping that we can start focusing on actually doing the work.”
Yet Ms. Crumiller said the mayor is being “stubborn” by resisting having that promised meeting. Officials are also split over the legal advice from town attorney Edwin W. Schmierer, who called it a “legal stretch” that council could meet in closed session meeting for that purpose.
Ms. Crumiller wants a written opinion from the attorney on the subject, although Mayor Lempert has resisted that notion.
”There has to be an element of trust for a group to work productively,” Ms. Crumiller said.
How and why Mayor Lempert brought up the issue raised eyebrows too.
Ms. Crumiller said she was “blind-sided” that Mayor Lempert would seek to publicly discuss a matter that had been talked about internally. Privately, one Democrat wondered whether Mayor Lempert did so as a political stunt.
The mayor, dismissing talk of political gamesmanship, said she raised the issue “because I wanted to have some guidance from council has to how to proceed with something.”
For her part, Ms. Butler offered that she, too, was surprised that Mayor Lempert would bring the issue up at a meeting.
”She could’ve communicated that to us in an email, but she didn’t,” Ms. Butler said.
All this comes with Mayor Lempert and Ms. Crumiller supporting different candidates in the upcoming Democrat primary for council. The mayor has endorsed Mr. Miller and former township Committeewoman Sue Nemeth, while Ms. Crumiller is for Ms. Butler.
Ms. Nemeth, who was at the Monday meeting, announced last week that she was entering the race.
Officials have been asked how the council plans to work together given the political divide, given how Councilmembers Lance Liverman and Heather H. Howard also are supporting Mr. Miller and Ms. Nemeth.
”Look,” the mayor said, “my focus right now is getting to work on all of the important business we have before us.”
”Differences between individuals of the same political party can’t get in the way of getting our work done,” Mr. Miller said Monday at the mayor’s press conference. “We get paid to get our job done.”