By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
As part of her expanded role in municipal government, Council President Jenny Crumiller will be attending private meetings that Mayor Liz Lempert has with Princeton University officials, and pledged on Monday to share with the public what was discussed during them., Those conversations had become a source of controversy when, in December 2015, it was revealed that the mayor and the then-council president at the time, Bernard P. Miller, had been meeting quarterly with Nassau Hall without the full council knowing. Councilwoman Jo S. Butler, a political ally of Ms. Crumiller, at the time charged the meetings were happening “surreptitiously.”, But Ms. Crumiller, attending Mayor Lempert’s press conference on Monday, gave an unequivocal “yes” answer when asked if she would commit to share, at council meetings, what was discussed when she and the mayor talk with Nassau Hall and with whom. In the past, the university has been represented by Vice President and Secretary Robert K. Durkee and director of community and regional affairs Kristin S. Appelget., “We’ve been meeting periodically with Princeton mayors for as long as I can remember – and my memory goes back almost 40 years,” Mr. Durkee said Monday. “I believe we and the mayors have found it helpful to have these candid and informal exchanges of views. Over the past four years these meetings have been more regularly scheduled than in the past (roughly quarterly) and have included the council president and administrator as well as the mayor, but they have continued to be candid, informal and helpful. If the town officials want to change the nature of the meetings we’d be happy to discuss that with them the next time we meet, which I believe is currently scheduled for late March.”, Ms. Crumiller was named council president earlier this month. In the past, she has butted heads with Nassau Hall, notably when she voted, as a member of Borough Council, against the zoning changes the university wanted for its arts and transit project. She has rejected the label of being anti-university, however., “I want to continue our good working relationship – which, believe it or not, we have,” she said in December., In her time in office, Ms. Crumiller has been a leading advocate for transparency in government., “We all are,” Mayor Lempert chimed in., For her part, Ms. Butler said she was pleased to hear of Ms. Crumiller’s pledge. “I think it’s great,” she said., She suggested that Ms. Crumiller let other council members know of the meetings ahead of time in case they have issues or items that should be on the agenda for when the town and the university meet. Ms. Crumiller said she and Mayor Lempert have not met with Nassau Hall so far this year, with the mayor adding a meeting is scheduled. No date was given., In the past, Mayor Lempert had said the university meetings had involved procedural issues, not policy. She has sought to have better town-gown relations with Nassau Hall, although she is somewhat limited given she has a conflict of interest with her husband, Ken Norman, being a tenured professor.
