TOWN TOPICS, PRINCETON, N.J., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 • 16
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Susan Kanter Brings New Voice, Positive Approach to the Board
To the Editor: On November 5, Princeton residents will vote for three candidates for School Board, and we urge you to vote for Susan Kanter. Susan offers the very special combination of a fresh new voice on the Board of Education, while also bringing extensive relevant school experience from more than a decade of volunteering as PTO co-president in the high school and PTO treasurer in the middle school. In these capacities, with her positive approach to problem solving, Susan developed strong working relationships with PTO presidents from all the local schools, as well as with teachers, parents, students, administrators, and even School Board members. We cannot think of a person who is better qualified to bring a new, positive, and informed perspective to School Board deliberations than Susan. Susan’s personal qualities make her especially suited to School Board work. She is an excellent listener, easy to work with, and a doer; she will not leave a meeting without followup action items. She sees the big picture, but is never afraid of rolling up her sleeves and getting into the details. Susan is open-minded, professional, and possesses a well-practiced and much-needed ability to work productively with other people — even those with views on important issues that may differ from her own. Lastly, Susan genuinely cares about the community; she cares about the students and she models the mission of the district by bringing joy and purpose to her work every single day. Please join us in casting a vote for Susan Kanter on November 5! LORI WEIR AND BRIG HENDERSON Stuart Road East BETH AND ED HIRSCHMAN, HELEN AND PAUL O’SHEA Ettl Circle RANDY AND STEVEN HUBERT Stone Cliff Road LAUREN AND ERIC JAFFE Rosedale Road JOAN AND RICH MORELLI Walker Drive WENDY AND SIMON RICHMOND Grasmere Way
Endorsing Kendal, Bronfeld For Board of Education
To the Editor: Voters who believe that more money and buildings will solve the schools’ problems are the voters most apt to turn out on November 5. Your vote can help change that. Princeton schools need a BoE majority that will determine the reasons for PPS’s continuing budget shortfalls. A Board’s job is to lead, not to follow. BoE members must seek, and find, real alternatives. Of all four candidates (for only three seats), Dafna Kendal and Deb Bronfeld are the most likely. To those who say, “The schools can’t wait,” note that enrollment numbers will not be known until: 1. The judge’s final rules on Affordable Housing are announced publicly. 2. Public hearings are held and evaluated. 3. The town opens bids. 4. Construction is completed (AvalonBay took more than two years to be built, much less affect enrollment). 5. The Mt Laurel rules require only that building be made possible through zoning changes, and allows ten years to build. 6. Until the town re-zones, and site plans are presented, it won’t even be clear which schools we need to expand. 7. Thus expansion can wait at least until the current debt is paid, in 2023. Likewise another bond referendum. Meanwhile, however, the BoE may want that $107M balance anyway — so it can also buy Westminster. If this would mean closing Westminster, is that the best outcome, when we don’t even know that school expansion is needed? If PPS does have to expand, should Westminster disappear, or could buying just a portion (for much less than $40M) solve both its problem and ours? The BoE is once again planning behind its closed doors — while paying another consultant $90K-$140K to teach it “how to listen to the community.” What will it take to get them to listen — not just to the school community, but the entire community? Having attended many of BoE’s committee and full meetings, and now personally interviewed each of the four candidates, I plan to vote for the only two candidates with the guts to question PPS’s excesses — Dafna Kendal and Deb Bronfeld: Dafna for her willingness to hear, and Deb for her insistently protesting spending that makes no sense. Neither candidate is the choice of the school establishment. One further thought: Get out and vote for Zwicker and Freiman for NJ Assembly. These thoughtful Dems represent another majority for whom full support is essential. MARY CLURMAN Harris Road
Bierman Is Acutely Aware Of Issues Facing Princeton
To the Editor: Adam Bierman was born and raised in Princeton and has been a lifelong resident. Acutely aware of the issues and problems that face residents of Princeton, he is a young man with a positive attitude, a great agenda, and will get things done in a positive way. JOSEPH KING Linden Lane
Ex-Mayor Miller Supporting Zwicker, Freiman, Lambros
To The Editor: On November 5, the voters of Princeton will have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in what has been characterized as an “off-year” election. The very phrase “off-year” has a negative connotation, implying that an off-year election is of lesser importance. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the Democratic Party is running excellent candidates who deserve our support for the positions of Mercer County Executive and Mercer County Freeholder, Princeton is located in New Jersey Assembly District 16 where we are represented by Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker and Assemblyman Roy Freiman, both Democrats. Historically, the 16th is a district that had not been represented by Democrats. This was changed by the support, and especially by the turnout of Princeton voters. Only by achieving another large turnout of Democratic voters can we assure the re-election of Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman to the New Jersey State Assembly. The election of two new Council members in this “off year” election on November 5 is of crucial importance to the future of Princeton. In addition to ongoing issues such as affordable housing, negotiations for a new voluntary contribution agreement with Princeton University, parking and maintaining a stock of middle income housing, Council will also have to deal with a problem that could have long-term effects on our central business district. While many of our businesses are already stressed by changing consumer buying habits and increasing rents, the closure of Alexander Road between Route 1 and Princeton for necessary bridge replacement will create a “perfect traffic storm” that will make it more difficult for people who live west and south of Princeton to come to town to attend events, shop, or enjoy a meal. Both of the Democratic candidates for Council are well prepared to serve through experience that they have gained by working in a volunteer capacity in our community. However, only Michelle Pirone Lambros has extensive experience as a small business entrepreneur and business owner that positions her well to understand the needs of our business community. Michelle is especially well qualified to work with the business community, and the other stakeholders in the central business district, to help Council understand the actions that it can take to lessen the impacts of the bridge closures during the many months that Alexander Road access to Princeton is closed. Vote in person on November 5 or be sure to return your vote by mail ballot. You’ll find all of the Democratic candidates in Column A. Don’t be deterred by claims that this is an “off-year” election and not important. Key races in this election can be won or lost by voter turnout in Princeton. Vote Democratic and help continue a government that works on behalf of all of us in the New Jersey Assembly, Mercer County, and especially in our hometown, Princeton. BERNARD P. MILLER Governors Lane
Background in Finance Qualifies Stankiewicz for Return to Board
To the Editor: We are writing to enthusiastically support the re-election of Greg Stankiewicz for Princeton’s Board of Education. One of Greg’s priorities is to strengthen the school district’s finances — a task for which he is well prepared because of his strong background in public finance. Greg worked as a budget specialist at the NJ Office of Management and Budget and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation at Princeton on state and local finance. Greg’s knowledge and experience are particularly important right now because the Board of Education may once again face tough decisions when planning next year’s budget, due to rising enrollments and the continual underfunding of the district by the state. In his tenure on the Board, Greg has focused on ways to increase revenues and reduce costs for the district. He supported and helped facilitate the hiring of a firm to evaluate how the district and municipality can most efficiently share services. He also encouraged the district to join a coalition that convinced the legislature to provide additional state aid for extraordinary special education costs, which resulted in Princeton receiving an additional $1.7 million this year. Going forward, Greg is championing state legislation, introduced by Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, which would result in the state directly funding charter schools, freeing up $6.5 million a year for Princeton Public Schools’ budget, while keeping the charter school fiscally whole. This work is not and cannot be done alone. Greg is capable of bringing people together, and gathering and synthesizing a variety of perspectives to put a plan into action. He is calm under pressure and is willing to put in the hard work and long hours because he believes deeply that all students must receive the best education possible. The Board of Education is most effective when they work together. Greg’s respect of others, positive attitude, and dedication will ensure that the School Board has the opportunity to be successful in its mission to support all of our students. Please join us in voting for Greg Stankiew icz on November 5. AMY CRAFT, CARRIE AND DOUG ELWOOD Poe Road CHRISTINA WALDEN Dodds Lane
Books
“Savage Feast” Author journalist who has written for The Washington Post, The Reading at Library
Boris Fishman, author of Savage Feast: Three Generations, Two Continents, and a Dinner Table (Harper), will be in the Community Room at the Princeton Public Library on Thursday, October 24, at 7 p.m. The event is part of the Fall Storytelling series. Writing in the Washington Post, Michale Dirda calls Savage Feast “a work of reminiscence and celebration that should appeal to a wide range of readers. If you like books about affectionate, colorful families, imagine Irving Howe’s World of Our Fathers mixed with Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey’s Cheaper by the Dozen. If you’re a fan of food memoirs, you’ll want to shelve it near M.F.K. Fisher’s The Art of Eating and A.J. Liebling’s Between Meals.” F ish ma n is a le c t u rer in creative writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University.
Library Live at Labyrinth Hosts Talk With Urken
Library Live at Labyrinth will present Ross Kenneth Urken discussing his book, Another Mother (Ian Randle Publishers) on Wednesday, October 30 at 6 p.m. According to Kirkus Reviews, “Urken’s resonant debut memoir doubles as a biographical tribute to Dezna Sanderson, the ‘Jamaican Mary Poppins’ who helped raise him for over a decade.... Urken writes with clarity and intense focus about his indebtedness to Sanderson, who was ‘like a protective buffer,’ and he shares many treasured memories of their time together....The author’s memories and descriptions of Sanderson are aptly adulatory in honoring a cherished, compassionate caregiver who, in large part, is responsible for the man he has become today. A memorable hybrid of heartfelt memoir and fond commemoration framed in Caribbean history, familial turmoil, and unconditional maternal love.” Ross Kenneth Urken is a
New York Times, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, VICE, Tablet, National Geographic, Newsweek, New York, Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The New Republic, the BBC, The Guardian, and Travel + Leisure. He grew up in Princeton and is a graduate of The Lawrenceville School and Princeton University. He lives in Manhattan.
Education for At-Risk Youth Subject of Labyrinth Panel
Princeton resident Steve Mariotti will be at Labyrinth Books on Monday, October 28, at 6 p.m., with two colleagues, Jimmy “Mac” McNeal and Michael Hobbs, for a panel discussion entitled “Opening the Future: Providing Entrepreneurial Education for At-Risk Youth,” which will focus on Mariotti’s bestselling memoir, Goodbye Homeboy (Ben Bella Books), which recounts his two years of teaching special education students in the 1980s in inner-city schools. Mar iot t i has aut hore d or co-authored numerous books for young people on entrepreneurship, and textbooks for secondar y schools as well as university level programs. He has been a longtime blogger for Huffington Post as well as a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. He is active in both the World Economic Forum and the Aspens Ideas Festival. McNeal is currently CEO of Union Square Shoes and founder of Bulldog Bikes, an international maker of action sports equipment. He has spent the last 25 years as an athlete, artist, designer, and entrepreneur. He has led extensive brand development projects for Toyota, Dr. Pepper, Source Magazine, Vibe Magazine, Shady Ltd., Jeep, and Kicker. Hobbs is a designer of footwear and influencer in product design who contributed to the rebuilding of a skateboarding brand for Converse Inc.