By Anne Levin
The June primary is three months away, and candidates for Princeton Council are ramping up their efforts for a seat on the dais. Incumbent David Cohen and newcomers Jon Durbin, Leanna Jahnke, and Marina Rubina are actively campaigning and will be on hand for the County and Municipal Forum and Endorsement Meeting being held by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) on March 15.
Councilwoman Leticia Fraga announced in January that she would not run for another term, while Cohen said he would. That leaves room for at least one new member on the governing body. We hear from Cohen and Durbin in this issue; Jahnke and Rubina on March 11.
A retired architect, Cohen has been active in his nine years on Council in numerous issues.
“There are a few I think are especially pressing for Council that are the focus of my work right now and in the coming couple of years,” he wrote in an email. “Figuring out how to manage and best utilize municipal assets is especially important because our Fourth Round Housing Plan calls for vacating two municipal properties for redevelopment as housing — the public works yard on John Street adjacent to Community Park, and the municipal garage and firehouse on North Harrison adjacent to Whole Earth. Both of these sites are slated to start construction on the new housing within two years, which means we have to provide new facilities to relocate the uses that are currently there. The plan is to create a new public works building and associated support space out at River Road, and my architectural and financial knowledge is especially crucial for oversight of the planning and construction of that new facility.”
Since the purchase of the former Westminster Choir College campus last year, the municipality has carrying costs which, coupled with the planned capital investment at River Road, and other much-needed improvements, could have undesirable impacts on taxpayers down the road if not properly handled, Cohen said.
“Is overhauling our zoning ordinances a pressing issue? We have been limping along for 12 years now with two zoning codes which are holdovers from before municipal consolidation, and I suppose this less-than-ideal situation could continue for a while longer,” he continued. “But we have at last hired a fantastic consultant to assist us in updating and overhauling our zoning to reflect current best practices in the land use world to help us solve for more sustainability, equity, and economic vitality, and I would say this is long overdue. The Code Review Committee, which I chair, will be intimately involved with staff in bringing this needed change to fruition.”
Cohen sees finally implementing the Stormwater Utility, which the town has been studying for the last two plus years, as another key priority.
“Many of the impacts of climate change are gradual and will only be fully felt over the course of decades, but extreme storm events are already happening with greater and greater frequency and the town can and must do more to protect the lives and property of our residents,” he said. “The Stormwater Utility will make the financial resources available to do what needs to be done and will share those costs more equitably across all property owners in the municipality in proportion to how much run-off is generated from each property, and implementing a fee-based model which will be incumbent on all property owners, taxable and tax-exempt alike.”
Cohen’s short list of priorities does not mean he will be abandoning his long-standing work on active transportation and traffic safety, his commitment to generational diversity and age-friendly policies, and his embrace of sustainability and carbon-reduction goals. “Absolutely not! All of these are the focus of current initiatives also on my to-do list for this year and beyond,” he said.
Durbin is a publishing executive with W.W. Norton in New York, and has been active in Princeton and Mercer Democratic organizations for several years. He has served as president of Princeton Little League and is married to Jean Durbin, former member of the Princeton School Board.
In a telephone interview, Durbin talked about his priorities and concerns.
“I am very concerned about the assault on our democracy and censorship of the press, schools, colleges, and universities,” he said. “And I see that on the front line. Also, we’ve got this big issue now looming over the town: we’re mandated to grow, but will grow beyond the mandate. How do we maintain our sensibility as a historic town without turning it into a suburban city?”
Having worked at W.W. Norton for 36 years, he has taken on these same kinds of issues related to maintaining a brand while evolving and changing. “We need to figure out how to maintain the balance between historic preservation and development,” he said. “At Norton, we’ve had to fight these kinds of battles.”
Another key issue is the impact of inflation and federal cuts. Keeping property taxes as low as possible will be a challenge. “My strong professional and business experience at a company that mirrors the mindset here in town will be really helpful,” Durbin said.
High taxes have made it impossible for some longtime residents to remain in Princeton. “While we’re going to grow on the front side, we’re still leaking gas out the tailpipe with people aged 55 to 75 who are leaving,” he said. “If we can navigate these waters over the next several years, we can help with that. It kills me when I see people leave town. This is a skill set that I can lend.”
As part of his campaign, Durbin has been going door to door to hear what people consider the town’s most pressing concerns. “I have talked to hundreds of people,” he said. “Far and away, the biggest issue is affordability and all the new housing sites that have gone in. The large majority favor smart growth and moving ahead. Where anxiety comes from is the back end of the process. Are the schools fully prepared? Is infrastructure, meaning the streets, really ready?”
His years coaching Little League have made Durbin curious about how the parks are used. “I would like to break down more this idea of passive rather than active recreation,” he said. “Parks are designed for team sports, but not a lot of passive recreation. I want to try and integrate the two, adding more walking paths around the exteriors of parks like Smoyer and Farmview, so people can use them for passive exercise, too.”
Most important is getting people involved in the community. “That includes getting everyone out to vote,” Durbin said. “I think we’ve got to go get them. We can’t sit around and wait.”
The PCDO meeting will be held Sunday, March 15 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 50 Cherry Hill Road. Doors open at 4:15 p.m. Visit princetondmc.org.