Borough Council Candidates and Town-Gown Issues

In addition to the highly contested governor's race, voters in Princeton Borough will be voting on an election a little closer to home this November 3rd. Voters can choose two of the three candidates running for a three year Princeton Borough Council term. The candidates are Jenny Crumiller (D), Linda Sipprelle (R) and Kevin Wilkes (D-incumbent). Princeton student Mendy Fisch '11, who is a Senior Writer for The Daily Princetonian, ran in the Democratic Primary for the Borough Council seat this June, but he fell 63 votes short.

The Princeton Packet and League of Women Voters presented a question and answer session with the three candidates and devoted the majority of the questioning to town-gown issues. All three candidates agreed with the view that the University "is not paying its full share of the costs in the municipalities in which it owns property." Wilkes noted that the University's decision not to pay property taxes to which it is exempt as a non-profit as "built on faulty moral terrain." Sipprelle advocated that the University have a head tax of $300 per student to help pay for the borough's costs of maintaining public services.

Additionally, both Crumiller and Wilkes are opposed to moving the Dinky 150 yards away from town to accomidate the proposed arts neighborhood, while Sipprelle advocated that the University provide further information about the neighborhood and its potential impacts before it moves forward.