To the Editor:
I write in enthusiastic support of the reelection of Councilman David Cohen, with whom I served on Council for six years. I have great confidence in David’s ability to navigate the key issues that Princeton will be dealing with over the next three years. I believe that Council has four crucial issues on the agenda: implementation of the current (fourth) round of affordable housing; revising our land-use laws to make them work for our community; envisioning appropriate uses for the Westminster property which both matches community aspirations and brings in funds to cover the costs of acquiring the property and paying the carrying costs incurred; and the introduction of a stormwater utility that will allow the municipality to deal in a sensible and comprehensive way with issues relating to climate change and flooding. David’s knowledge, experience, and skills are key to dealing with all four of these issues; I believe it is vital for our community that he be reelected to Council in the upcoming Democratic primary.
I’d like to share two stories about work that David and I did together to illuminate the value that he adds to Council. The first of these is about a conflict between the library and the municipality that resulted in a solution that worked for all parties. To improve cell reception in the Hinds Plaza area, the municipality asked Verizon to install extra cell phone towers. Verizon’s engineers determined that the perfect place to install these was on the library roof and façade, but Verizon’s initial proposal was seen by the library’s staff and architect as damaging to the library’s signature “book” element on the roof as well as impacting the front and sides of the building. Many, many months and much heated discussion later, a visit by all parties — including David with his excellent listening skills and architectural expertise — to the library’s roof led to a compromise plan that satisfied everyone. David’s role, as a calm, patient, and expert listener who can use his technical knowledge to reach solutions, was vital to this solution.
This experience was not unusual in my work with David. We both served on the Traffic Safety Committee and made many visits over the course of those years to residents who had specific concerns about traffic and safety. In all of these visits, all over town, at all times of the day or evening depending on the specific problem, David listened carefully and patiently and used his extensive knowledge to propose and discuss possible solutions, and the conversations always benefited from his participation.
For these reasons, as well as David’s crucial role in addressing what I identified as the four major tasks on the Council agenda in the short term, I will be voting for David in the Democratic primary. I hope that those reading this will do the same.