by Allsion Musante, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh is requesting the town’s support for his candidacy as an assemblyman in the 14th District to take the soon-to-be-vacant seat of Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein.
Mayor Hsueh announced Wednesday that he would like to be considered for appointment to Ms. Greenstein’s seat. Democratic committee members must make a decision by Dec. 1, when Ms. Greenstein is expected to be sworn into the Senate, after she defeated Sen. Tom Goodwin on Nov. 2. As required by state statute, a replacement must be selected within 35 days of official vote certification.
Mayor Hsueh said he had considered submitting his name for consideration only days before Ms. Greenstein’s election.
Other candidates who have expressed interest include Mercer County Freeholders John Cimino and Dan Benson, West Windsor Councilman George Borek, former Mercer County Democratic chair Rich McClellan, and South Brunswick Councilman Joseph Camarota Jr.
”A few days before the election, I was watching the polls and I thought Linda was going to be elected, but I didn’t take it seriously until then I only let a few people know I was thinking about it,” he said. Mayor Hsueh, who is in his third term, issued a public statement stating his case for consideration, outlining his career in administration and listing his achievements. Among them, he cited 28 years in leadership in state environmental policy and projects a focus of Ms. Greenstein’s while in the Assembly.
He was a professor of environmental engineering and science at Rutgers University for 24 years. While at the state Department of Environmental Protection, he was a project leader for a watershed planning project and bureau chief for Water Quality Standards, a pollution-control group. Some of his local projects include completing a Grover’s Mill Pond cleanup and preserving about 50 percent of West Windsor land as open space.
Mayor Hsueh, who served eight years as a member of the Township Council and four terms as council president, also cited some of the town’s accolades under his leadership. Among them, he noted that West Windsor had the lowest municipal portion of the property tax rate in Mercer County this year, the first Greentown USA award in New Jersey, and several awards for transportation improvements.
He said he wants to be chosen so that West Windsor can have greater representation in the Assembly.
”We’ve never been a major player before, and we deserve to be recognized,” he said.
Mr. Borek, whose term on the council expires in December 2011, said he also wants to be appointed to represent West Windsor in state matters and that he has the spirit to serve given his background as a firefighter in Jersey City.
”Public service has always been in my view,” he said. “I’ve shown the community that I’m an open-minded individual and I want to reach out to bring people together from all sides of the aisle.”
The 14th District includes Hamilton, West Windsor and a number of Middlesex County towns, including Plainsboro, Monroe and South Brunswick.
