The only item on the Princeton Council’s agenda for its Dec. 18 meeting was to approve a lawsuit settlement, but it turned into an informal “goodbye and good luck” ceremony for outgoing Princeton Council members Jenny Crumiller and Tim Quinn.
Crumiller and Quinn, whose three-year terms expire Dec. 31, wanted to leave the Princeton Council quietly, but their Princeton Council colleagues – past and present – had other ideas. They were not going to let Crumiller and Quinn off the hook.
Former Princeton Council members Jo Butler, Heather Howard and Lance Liverman each strode to the microphone and praised Crumiller and Quinn.
Butler and Howard served with Crumiller on the pre-merger Princeton Borough Council, and Liverman served with them on the post-merger Princeton Council.
Crumiller served on the former Princeton Borough Council from 2009 to 2012, and from 2013 to the present on the new Princeton Council.
Quinn is completing a three-year term on the Princeton Council. He also served on the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education, including a stint as school board president, before being elected to the council.
Pointing out that the Dec. 18 meeting was Crumiller’s and Quinn’s final meeting, Howard said she wanted to express her appreciation for their service.
“Jenny and Tim are both so modest that they asked us not to come and requested no fanfare, but we would be remiss if we did not mark their tremendous service to Princeton,” Howard said.
The town has not had two more devoted public servants than Crumiller and Quinn, she said.
Howard reminded Crumiller that she took her under her wing on the Princeton Borough Council when she was a newly elected council member. Crumiller has been a tireless advocate for good government, transparency and inclusion, she said.
Howard said Quinn has helped the community in many ways, through his service on the school board and now on the council. During his tenure on Princeton Council, he often volunteered for the most complex and thankless assignments, she said.
Quinn has been committed to promoting equity, affordability and sustainability, which are values that Princetonians treasure “and that you embody,” Howard told him.
“Jenny and Tim have both served Princeton with honor, dignity and compassion – qualities that we could certainly use more of in politics today. We will miss you,” Howard told them.
Liverman said he echoed Howard’s comments, and added that Quinn has a “heart of gold.”
While Princeton Council is losing two “very special” people, Liverman said he is confident that the new Princeton Council members who are taking Crumiller’s and Quinn’s places “will do just fine.”
Butler said she served with Crumiller on the former Princeton Borough Council and on the new Princeton Council, and with Quinn for one year on the Princeton Council before her term expired in 2017.
Crumiller has always been the workhorse on the Princeton Council, Butler said. She never sought the spotlight, preferring to toil behind the scenes. She was a champion of the underdog, and of fairness and justice.
“I also want to comment on the ‘Jenny Crumiller machine.’ Jenny single-handedly did more to change the political landscape than anyone I know,” Butler said.
“Jenny opened up the smoke-filled back rooms (where political deals were made) and blew in some fresh air. She encouraged and supported new talent. Jenny opened the door of opportunity for so many others, whether they realize it or not,” Butler said.
The town is better for Crumiller’s service, and she will be missed, Butler said.
Quinn also came in for some words of praise from Butler, whose term on the Princeton Council overlapped his term for one year.
Quinn is a quick and dedicated study, Butler said. He was always prepared and eager to learn. He earned a reputation as a responsive elected official, both with the public and the staff, she said.
“I personally want to acknowledge your commitment of time and energy through the end of your term. It has not gone unnoticed,” Butler said.
Mayor Liz Lempert presented the two outgoing council members with a proclamation that acknowledged their service on the Princeton Council.
The proclamation praised Quinn for his long-standing efforts as a public servant – from his nearly seven years on the school board to his service on the Princeton Planning Board and, more recently, on the Princeton Council.
It touched on Quinn’s leadership on the “Princeton Neighborhood Character Initiative, which led to significant zoning law changes designed to protect neighborhoods from the proliferation of out-of-scale construction,” she said.
Quinn served as the fire commissioner “during a period of significant transition for the Princeton Fire Department, and has earned the trust and respect of all involved parties,” the proclamation read.
The Princeton Fire Department is moving from an all-volunteer department to a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters.
Lempert also gave a proclamation to Crumiller, which stated that “whatever the endeavor, Jenny provides a breath of fresh air, an open mind and a natural ability to cut to the chase.”
Crumiller has advocated for fiscal responsibility, consolidation of the two towns, affordable housing, neighborhood preservation from development, walkability and bike mobility, resident engagement and transparency, the proclamation said.
The proclamation also stated that Crumiller “has had such a lasting impact on municipal government by encouraging and supporting many others to run for office that (former) Princeton Packet reporter Phil Curran dubbed her efforts ‘the Crumiller machine.’”