By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Democrat Mayor Liz Lempert and the all-Democratic Princeton Council began the year with an eye toward Washington, D.C., and the “challenges” a Trump administration will have for their liberal community, one that expects to be sharply opposed to the incoming Republican president on issues of immigration and the environment., Mayor Lempert, in her state of the town address Wednesday at the council reorganization meeting, said “we face a new set of challenges on the national front.”, “After the recent, divisive election, more residents than ever are energized and eager to engage at the local level to protect the progressive values our town holds dear,” said Mayor Lempert, who supported Hillary Clinton. “With the national elections behind us, new and serious challenges confront us, especially for vulnerable communities such as immigrant groups.”, Princeton, a sanctuary city, is home to large numbers of people living in the country illegally, primarily from Central America. In her remarks, Mayor Lempert recalled how, in the weeks after the presidential election, the town organized an information session with an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer for illegal immigrants to know their rights., She never mentioned President-elect Donald J. Trump by name, as the incoming president has pledged to step up deporting illegal immigrants and defunding sanctuary cities. It comes at a time when some local churches are mulling whether to become sanctuary congregations to take in illegal immigrants and let them live there, as their immigration cases are heard by the federal government., “I look forward to continuing to work to ensure that we are a welcoming community and that we can be a model of progressive, inclusive and effective government here in Princeton,” said Councilwoman Heather H. Howard, who had worked previously in the Clinton administration and for Ms. Clinton., Councilwoman Jo S. Butler later picked up on the theme about the incoming Trump administration., “As we look to 2017, at the risk of stating the obvious, we’re entering a period of great uncertainty at the national level,” she said. “The early indications are that much of what President-elect Trump intends to do will be at odds with the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Princetonians. And I expect that we, as a governing body, will be called upon to address issues that aren’t being addressed at the state or national level or that are being addressed in a way that is at odds with our sensibilities.”, She cited climate change as an example. The town intends this year to work on a climate action plan to reduce emissions, one of the issues Mayor Lempert had cited in her nearly 14-and-1/2 minute-speech., The traditional first meeting of the year saw Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller and Councilman and former school board president Timothy K. Quinn take their oaths of office to start three-year terms. Ms. Crumiller also was named council president, in filling a role that Councilman Lance Liverman had held last year. Mayor Lempert also had a ceremonial swearing in, with Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-16) doing the honors; the mayor had taken her actual, legal oath on Tuesday., In her remarks, Ms. Crumiller touched on wanting to crack down on speeding and repealing a local zoning law that allows people to put offices into residential neighborhoods., “I feel very fortunate to be serving in a town where an overwhelming majority believe that government has a vital role in improving the lives of residents,” Mr. Quinn said. “Of course, many who will soon have complete control of the federal government feel otherwise. For me, that makes acting at the local level all the more important.”
