By Anne Levin
At the Princeton Community Democratic Organization’s (PCDO) Municipal Forum and Endorsement Meeting this Sunday, March 15, Princeton Nursery School CEO Leanna Jahnke and architect Marina Rubina are among the four Democrats who will be pursuing endorsement for a seat on Princeton Council. Like fellow candidates David Cohen and Jon Durbin, who were profiled last week, both Jahnke and Rubina are committed to improving access and affordability — each with her own focus.
For Jahnke, representation of young families is a key issue. “I feel strongly that a role on Council should be accessible to working parents,” she said in a telephone interview. “And I don’t see that.”
Attending Princeton School Board and Council meetings, Jahnke has noticed a different audience at each. “At Council meetings, I see our senior population represented in terms of who is attending,” she said. “And I think people see this [serving on Council] as a role for retirees. Seeing representation from young families and working professionals is part of my motivation to run, so that our voices are heard in decision-making moments.”
Before becoming CEO of the nonprofit Princeton Nursery School in 2022, Jahnke
was a teacher, school administrator, and nonprofit leader in Mercer County. She chairs the town’s Committee on Affordable Housing, Racial, Economic, Social Equity and Services (CARES). She has been involved in Princeton professionally since 2016, and moved here with her husband and three children in 2023.
“It’s been so special to be here,” she said. “The school has motivated me to engage in the community. The issues I am most familiar with, professionally and personally, are connected to education and access — from housing to equity to affordability. Everything ties into access. But I’m transparent when it comes to the things I’m less well versed in, like stormwater issues, that would be a learning experience for me. We have such wonderful municipal staff, and I’d be eager to be uplifted by collaborating with them.”
Jahnke’s website reads that her work at local and national nonprofits “includes developing and implementing various education programs for low-income, immigrant communities in Mercer County, ensuring college access efforts for low-income, high-achieving students across the U.S., and supporting the establishment of Princeton University’s inaugural campus-wide engagement experience.”
Jahnke has been asked more than once how she has time to serve as CEO of Princeton Nursery School, raise her family, and run for office.
“I did share, in my first forum, that it’s not about whether I’m busy or have time for it,” she said. “It’s about all of the candidates being able to prioritize through this role. It was my exposure to CARES that pushed me to be interested in running, and I’m really excited about it.”
Most recently in the news for approval of a redevelopment project she designed and helped revise in the historic Jugtown district, Rubina is actively involved in issues of land use and affordability. As her website reads, “There are no reasonably priced homes. None. Opening a business takes longer than having a baby. Our property taxes are sky high. Young people, educators, researchers, retirees, and most people who work in Princeton can’t afford to live in Princeton.”
Yet she is optimistic that these things can change if work starts at the local level.
“We can do this,” she said in a phone interview. “Once we achieve certain things, we can make our town better and be such an inspiration to everybody else. We can do so much, and advocate at the state level. In three years, we can have something really great to show.”
Rubina is running for Council because “the American Dream worked for me,” her website reads. Moving to the U.S. from the Soviet Union when she was 16, she came here “believing it was truly a land of opportunity. Call it naïve, but I still believe that. What I’ve learned through my work as a planner, architect, and sustainability consultant is that opportunity is not accidental; it is shaped by the choices we make every day. Our land use laws are the specific mechanisms that determine whether our town remains accessible, resilient, and welcoming to the next generation. The good news is: we have full control over them.”
Her expertise would be crucial as Council works to update current land use laws, which date back to 1968 and 1974, Rubina’s website reads. “It is critical to have someone on Council who truly understands what is and is not working. I am raising my hand and offering to help at this important time, even though this will be a major disruption to my professional work, as I will step away from projects in Princeton to avoid any conflicts of interest.”
Asked her priority, Rubina returns to one word: hope.
“Everyone is so disheartened and devastated and powerless right now,” she said. “We actually have so much power and control at the local level to do so much good. It’s critical not to forget that. My whole point in running is to make people feel we can do so much right here, right now, and should go ahead and start doing that.”
The PCDO meeting is on Sunday, March 15 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 50 Cherry Hill Road. Doors open at 4:15 p.m.