Mercer County Towns Reorganize for 2010

Janice Mironov Chosen to Serve as East Windsor Mayor for 15th Year: For the 15th year in a row, the East Windsor Council selected Janice Mironov to serve as mayor for 2010. The council also unanimously selected Marc Lippman to serve as deputy mayor for the next year.

Ewing Swears in New Council:
On January 7, newly-elected Democrats Joseph Murphy and Les Summiel were sworn into office and joined their counterparts on Council. Mr. Murphy was then selected as council president and Mr. Summiel as council vice-president on the Democratic Council.

New Council President in Hamilton Township At Hamilton Council's reorganization meeting, Republican Tom Goodwin was voted in as council president and Dave Kenny as council vice-president. Running-mate Dennis Pone was also sworn into office at the meeting.

Hightstown Borough Council Selects Leadership: At its reorganization meeting on January 1, Hightstown Borough Council selected longtime Councilman Larry Quattrone to serve as council president for 2010. Newcomer Dimitri Musing was sworn into his council seat while Borough Attorney Fred Raffetto, Engineer Carmela Roberts, Labor Attorney Richard Shaklee, Municipal Prosecutor Robert Yostembski, Auditor William Antonides, Bond Counsel Edward McManimon and Planner Tamara Lee were all reappointed to their posts through 2010.

New Councilwoman Takes Seat in Hopewell Borough: Democrat Debra Horowitz and returning Republican Councilman David Knights were sworn into office on January 4 to serve three-year terms on the Hopewell Borough Council. The council, which is now evenly split with three Republicans (David Knights, Sky Morehouse and Robert Lewis) and three Democrats (Debra Horowitz, David Mackie and Sean Jackson), unanimously selected David Knights to serve another term as president of the Council.

Reorganization in Hopewell Township gives Republicans the Majority: On January 4, Republican Kim Johnson was sworn in to serve her first three-year term on the Hopewell Township Committee, giving the Republicans a 3-2 voting majority. At the reorganization meeting, the Committee also unanimously chose Michael Markulec to serve as Mayor and Jim Burd to serve as Deputy Mayor for 2010.

Lawrence Township Council Plans for 2010: On January 1, Greg Puliti and Jim Kownacki were sworn into office for four-year terms on the Township Council. Township Councilman Michael Powers was selected by his colleagues to serve a one-year term as mayor, a post he held back in 2006.

Pennington Council Swears in New Members: In early January, Democrats Eileen Heinzel and Joseph Lawver were sworn-in to new three-year terms on the Pennington Council. Democrats now control all the seats on Council, as well as the Mayor's Office. Edwin Weed Tucker was chosen council president. Reappointed for another years were Walter Bliss (borough attorney), Robert Morrison (auditor), Craig Hubert (prosecutor) and Edward McManimon (bond counsel).

Princeton Borough Council Holds Reorganization Meeting: At the reorganization meeting of the Princeton Borough Township Committee, Councilman Andrew Koontz was re-elected to serve another term as Council President, and re-elected Councilman Kevin Wilkes was sworn in along with newcomer Jenny Crumiller.

Trenton Mayor Race Begins to Heat Up

Since Mayor Doug Palmer announced that he would not seek reelection for the mayor's seat after serving 20 years in office, a long list of candidates have announced their plans to run for the post this spring. To be eligible, each candidate must submit at least 385 signatures from registered voters by March 18.

Among the candidates that have thrown their hat into the ring so far are:

Alex Brown (http://alexbrown4t renton.com/) -Mr. Brown is the Director for the Office of Community Relations for the NJ Department of Transportation. He was a longtime member of the Trenton Board of Education and served as Chairman of the Trenton Facilities Advisory Board.

John Harmon-Mr. Harmon is a businessman who runs the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey. He previously served as the head of the Metropolitan Trenton African-American Chamber of Commerce. In the 2006 mayoral race, Mr. Harmon came in third place for the seat.

Tony Mack (http://tonymack.com/) -Mr. Mack served on the Mercer County Chosen Board of Freeholders for 12 years. Today, he is a member of the NAACP and Urban League Guild and previously served as a member of Laborers Local #595 and former President of AFSCME Local 2281. Mr. Mack was the second top vote getter in the 2006 Trenton mayoral race.

Annette Lartigue (http://www.ann ettelartigue.com/) -- Councilwoman Lartigue is serving her third term representing the 3rd Ward in Trenton. She is employed as chief of Administrative Services for the Mercer County Board of Social Services.

Paul Pintella (http://ww w.paulpintella.com/index.html)-Coucilman Pintella was first elected to City Council in June 1994. He has been serving as Council President since 2002, reelected in May 2006 to a fourth term in office.

Manny Segura (http://mannysegura.co m/)-- Councilman Segura was first elected to the Trenton City Council in May 2002, and was reelected in June 2006.

Trenton Releases 2009 Annual Report

The City of Trenton recently released its 2009 Annual Report that provides a detailed overview of the state of the city and offers recommendations to Council on actions that should be focused on in 2010 to improve the City. To view the report in full, visit http://www.trentonnj.org/ Documents/12-31-09-- FINAL2009AnnualReport.pdf.

MCAR Legislative Committee Members Meet with Area Mayors

Members of the MCAR Legislative Committee met with three area mayors during the late fall to discuss issues of importance to the Association such as redevelopment, property taxes and increasing the FHA loan limits for certain municipalities in Mercer County. All of the meetings proved to be worthwhile exchanges of ideas that elevated the Association's position in the municipal decision-making process. The following is a brief overview of the meetings and what was discussed:

Meeting with West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh: Mayor Hsueh provided the MCAR members with a candid update on the redevelopment of the 350-acre area surrounding the Princeton Junction Train Station and the township's efforts to revitalize West Windsor's so-called Main Street, which runs along Route 571/Princeton-Hightstown Road between Wallace Road and Clarksville Road. The Mayor informed the MCAR members that the former Acme Shopping Center is now under a new management company-Silbert Realty-that is in the process of working to secure new tenants for the vacancies in the strip mall. The company plans to make aesthetic improvements to the shopping center that will be more in-line with the township's overlay plans for Main Street. He also discussed County and Township plans for traffic improvements along the stretch of roadway, which can be viewed in detail at ht tp://www.westwindsornj.org/CR571_ppt.pdf.

At the meeting, MCAR members informed the Mayor about the new FHA loan limits, which are hampering West Windsor's ability to compete because they are set at just $440,000 while neighboring towns in Middlesex County have limits nearly double that. The Mayor agreed with the Association that the low loan limits are troublesome for West Windsor. As a result, the Mayor worked with Council to swiftly pass a resolution requesting that the FHA increase the limits for the subarea that includes West Windsor. This cooperation is just one example of the positive change that can result from discussions such as this one with Mayor Hsueh.

Meeting with Robbinsville Mayor David Fried: In November, MCAR members met with Robbinsville Mayor David Fried and Township Business Administrator and Engineer Timothy McGough who discussed detailed plans for the final phase of development in Town Center. The final phase includes a 46 acre parcel of land that is zoned and approved for development that includes high-end retail, medical/commercial, assisted living, as well as 100-300 residential units that will be one-two bedroom condos. The Mayor is currently meeting with potential investors and developers to jumpstart the project since it was slowed due to the economy. He also told the attendees that he expects the NJ Department of Transportation to begin construction of the new road near Town Center to occur in the second quarter of 2010.

Meeting with Ewing Township Mayor Jack Ball: The meeting with Mayor Jack Ball and Township Attorney Michael Hartsough began with a frank discussion about the Township's landlord ordinance that requires rental property owners to register with the township and undergo inspections every year. MCAR members expressed their concern with the ordinance and suggested the Township move in the direction of the State DCA model that requires inspections of rental properties every five years. The Mayor said he would consider the measure and that he is trying to work with the Council to strike a fair balance that will ensure properties are being maintained without being overly burdensome to landlords.

The Mayor is also working to open the dialogue with the local colleges since the students renting off- campus are often the leading offenders. He plans to create an orientation program for students renting private properties off-campus that informs them of their responsibilities and expectations while they are residing in the community. There are approximately 1,100 rental units in Ewing. Once the landlord ordinance is finalized and the legal issues are resolved, the township plans to create a web site with TCNJ that will give parents and students information about the rental units such as availability and responsibilities of the renters, landlords, etc.

During the meeting, the mayor invited MCAR to participate in the February Mayor's meeting on February 17. MCAR will provide a presentation to inform the public about the first time homebuyers tax credit and other incentives. If you're interested in participating in the meeting, please contact MCAR's Anna Kagan at akagan@ mercerrealtors.com.