Scotia W. MacRae and Richard S. Blofson, Princeton
I first met Jenny Crumiller in 2003 when she was organizing a protest against George Bush’s push to declare war on Iraq. Her idea was unique: make a film of citizens saying why the United States should not go to war and play it on cable stations in Washington, D.C., as an advertisement during the President Bush’s State of the Union Speech.
Everyone in Princeton was encouraged to participate, and they did. People came from the Tree Streets, from the Western Section, from the Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood, from the borough, and from the township to say why they were against the war.
The film was made, the ads were scheduled. And then, suddenly CNN said they couldn’t show the ad. This made news — it made the Bill Moyers program, where it was discussed in front of a national audience, instead of the local markets where it had been scheduled to run.
This was at the time when Jenny, who had three young children, was attending Rutgers, where she graduated magna cum laude.
Jenny went on to become active in local politics. She broke through the impenetrable PCDO by recruiting people to join. She opened up the organization, created the PCDO book club, and established ad hoc committees to work on issues of concern. She also opened up the Democratic Party in Princeton to competitive elections.
She was active in supporting candidates on the national level — from John Kerry to Barak Obama — and recruiting candidates on the local level, Mayor Liz Lempert among them.
She supported consolidation of the two Princetons and won a council seat on the new municipal council. I am happy that she is running again because the important work of consolidation has not yet been completed and we need the continuity of her knowledge in this effort, as well as her creativity in problem solving.
One of Princeton’s most famous immigrants, Albert Einstein, said, “To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.” To “punish” Jenny for challenging the political establishment, fate has made her an incumbent in a competitive race.
We hope you will join us in supporting Jenny Crumiller for council — we believe she has the perception to work for change while at the same time respecting consistency and tradition.
Scotia W. MacRae
Richard S. Blofson
Princeton
