By Philip Curran, Staff Writer
Mayor Liz Lempert and the Princeton Council on Monday tried to put their best foot forward in 2015, in a move to leave their political acrimony behind them.
At the reorganization meeting, Democrats Bernard P. Miller and Jo S. Butler took office to three-year terms on the six-member council. Mr. Miller also was named council president for a third consecutive year.
In their remarks, officials talked of their willingness to work together and threw plaudits at one another. Councilman Lance Liverman called Ms. Butler an “asset” for the council, this despite opposing her re-election last year.
Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller complimented Mr. Miller for his “diligent approach to council work.”
As a one-party-town, Princeton is run by Democrats, who find themselves split into opposite camps between Mayor Lempert and Ms. Crumiller and her husband, Jon. The feud manifests itself in party primary races for the governing body, where the mayor and all the council members are Democrats.
Mr. Miller and Ms. Butler last year found themselves on opposite sides of a three-way primary in which Ms. Butler beat Mr. Miller’s running mate, former township Committeewoman Sue Nemeth.
“Cliché as it may be, I sit here as living proof that every vote counts, a fact that is not lost on me,” said Ms. Butler, who defeated Ms. Nemeth by six votes.
“And to those six voters who put me over the top, let me say that your new sidewalks will be installed shortly,” she joked.
Mayor Lempert, in her state of the town address, said last year had “its share” of discord.
“We have weathered those storms, and we have moved on,” she said.
In 2015, Mr. Liverman and Councilwoman Heather H. Howard are both up for re-election; both are aligned with the mayor. So far, it is unclear if the Crumillers will field a slate to oppose them or not.
Given how Democrats outnumber Republicans, the Democratic primary is the defacto general election in Princeton. Should no Democratic challengers emerge, Mr. Liverman and Ms. Howard are all but assured of getting re-elected.