Woodbridge: National and State Political Agendas Should Not Have a Place in Local Government

Dear Editor:

Congratulations to Liz Lempert for winning a hard fought primary. Congratulations also to Heather, Lance, Patrick, Bernie, Jenny and Jo for their strong finishes.

Scott and Tamera are to be thanked for their spirited campaign. For relative new comers, they ran good races and we sincerely hope they run again.

Special thanks to Kevin Wilkes and Roger Martindell. Kevin did a yeoman’s job as Council President. It isn’t widely known but we appointed Kevin assistant building inspector in the Township when Phyllis Marchand and I were members of the Township Committee in the early 1990’s. Kevin was hugely helpful to Betty Jablonski, our late Building Inspector.

Finally, heartfelt thanks to Roger for an incredible 23 years of unbroken and unblemished service on the Borough Council. I had the pleasure of overlapping with Roger and his institutional knowledge and willingness to speak up – even when it was unpopular to do so – will be sorely missed.

Potholes don’t belong to any known political party. National and state political agendas and should have no place in local government. For that reason, our campaign this year will be a complete departure from the past – a strictly nonpartisan campaign – a tent big enough to comfortably hold all Princetonians who want real change – Democrats, Independents, Republicans and every party in between. The campaign will emphasize that we are one Princeton moving forward with one spirit in mind – a brighter future.

January 1, 2013, marks the beginning of a challenging and important era in Princeton’s history. If we don’t deliver on the ambitious promises of the consolidation study Commission it will be at least another 50 years before a New Jersey town seriously considers merging with a neighboring municipality. We cannot afford to let the voters down. There is a lot more riding on consolidation than the reputations of the Governor and the Consolidation Study Commission.

In that spirit, I encourage all candidates and their supporters to keep the rhetoric cool and focus on the only things that really matter, namely, cooperation and getting dedicated, competent and experienced leaders elected for what promises to be a tough couple of years. Geoff Aton and I look forward to a vigorous campaign this fall filled with debates, passion and maybe a little humor and excitement.

Looking forward to “One Princeton – One Spirit”.

Sincerely,

Richard C. Woodbridge
Candidate for Mayor