To the Editor:

Tamera Matteo is a newcomer to politics but a familiar face among the community organizations in town. The president of the John Witherspoon Middle School PTO, a CASA volunteer, a Corner House Foundation board member, and a volunteer for McCarter Theater, to name just a few of her community leadership roles, Tamera has a stellar reputation among those who have worked with her. She’s a good listener who solicits input from a diverse community; she’s a collaborative leader who builds consensus; she is results-oriented. She brings a professional approach and a customer-service perspective, borne of her decade-long ownership of a local retail business, to all that she does.

We have worked alongside Tamera on the John Witherspoon (JW) Middle School PTO, and strongly support her for the new Council. She brings the experience, temperament, perspective and commitment that the new Princeton needs and deserves.

As JW’s PTO president, she was a wonderful bridge between the leadership of a principal who had headed the school for over 30 years, and a new principal who had to quickly learn the lay of the land. She was able to make even better the many positive aspects of JW. The highlights of her tenure as PTO president include:

Turning a negative PTO cash balance into a $20,000 surplus;

Assisting parents in developing the first JW swim club;

Being appointed by the District to participate in the Principal search committee for JW;

Redesigning the JW spiritwear to make it more appealing to the kids, thereby improving school spirit, and helping to raise more funds; and,

Finding an equivalent in quality/less expensive Washington, DC tour for the 8th graders.

Tamera’s ability to improve both the tangibles, such as cash balance and sports offerings, as well as the intangibles, such as school spirit, bodes well for her future success as a member of the Princeton Council. For this reason, we enthusiastically endorse her candidacy for Princeton Council.

Elizabeth Collier

Snowden Lane

Susan Kanter

Christopher Drive

Roxanne List

Jefferson Road

Leah McDonald

Journeys End Lane

Joan Morelli

Walker Drive

Lucy Quach Saengtawesin

Gallup Road

Elizabeth Samios

Bertrand Drive

AnaMaria Silva

Stonewall Circle

Jeanette Timmons

Marion Road East

Diana Traquina

Van Dyke Road