Our Candidates - 2010
Princeton area Republicans will be working hard in 2010 to get out the vote, promote fiscal responsibility at all levels of government and to reduce high tax levels which threaten our economic well-being.
We welcome expressions of interest from Princeton area residents who may be considering becoming candidates for public office. We can provide information and contacts.
For those wishing to become more involved in the local political process, but are not yet ready to run for elected office, both the Borough and Township Republican Committees have openings for voting district (neighborhood) committee members. Individuals interested in participation with our local Committees in election and promotional activities are welcome.
For further information, email RAPrinceton@yahoo.com or telephone 609-497-0740.
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"Let's Rush Congressman Holt from Congress!"
Written by Dennis "DJ" Mikolay Sunday, 16 May 2010 09:55 from www.ahherald.com
As anyone who has read my columns is well aware, it is extremely rare that I praise a member of either major party. That being said, I have always advocated that one should vote based upon the merits of the individual candidate, and not by their party affiliation. Thus, I have no qualms admitting that I am actively supporting Scott Sipprelle's campaign for New Jersey's 12th Congressional district.
I will try my best to present the case for Sipprelle without making this column seem like a political commercial. As most of us know, Congressman Rush Holt has spent the last few years running up the bills in the capital. He was already arguably the most fiscally liberal member of the House of Representatives, yet, as the years passed, any semblance of independence that Holt may have once harbored has been worn away. He has become one of the Democratic Party's most loyal supporters. Now, it should be made clear that heart-felt support for your political party is admirable; Holt, however, has missed approximately 7,666 Congressional roll calls and voted along party lines 98.4% of the time!
Holt has clearly lost interest in supporting what is best for America, instead choosing to cater to whatever his party's bosses whims are. It is undeniably time for Holt to go. The real problem, however, has been finding a challenger with strong appeal and a substantive platform.
That's where Scott Sipprelle enters the picture.
Scott Sipprelle is an impressive candidate for several reasons. First off, he isn't a career politician. He comes from the private sector; the founding fathers had hoped our political system would work this way. They envisioned a country where private citizens would run for office, serve out their term, and then return to their private jobs. The founders would have cringed at the very thought of "career politicians" solely because (as Rush Holt has so vividly demonstrated) such individuals never represent the people.
Sipprelle's platform is very much in line with that of independent minded voters. He is one of only a handful of major party candidates who supports term limits, which will help to clean the House and Senate of the countless career politicians who have spent decades serving only themselves, while simultaneously running up our nation's debt. When our nation was founded, there wasn't supposed to be a political elite, and yet we now have individuals who have spent decades in the same legislative positions without any fear of reprimand or electoral defeat.
Combine Sipprelle's already appealing plans for Congress with a desire to control the national debt, and it becomes apparent that Sipprelle is a real, viable candidate with a concrete platform. And come November, that will be his strong point. Republicans, Democrats, Independents and third party voters will find his platform appealing. A vote for Sipprelle wouldn't simply be a protest vote against Holt; it would be a vote for an entirely new game-plan. That is why I have volunteered to lend Sipprelle's campaign a hand in the coming months, and that is why I encourage all readers to do the same. We have to fix Congress! So come November, we should rush Congressman Holt out of Congress.
(L to R) Peter Marks and Roland Foster Miller
From "Town Topics", June 30, 2010.
“It seems to me that there aren’t enough voices heard here in Princeton,” said Mr. Miller, referring to the representation on Council vis-a-vis the overall spectrum of opinion and experience in town.
As an editor and writer for the New York Times for 34 years, as well as an instructor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism for over 20 years, Mr. Miller noted that he will employ the “objectivity and fairness” gained from his career to “make sure that all Princetonians can share in fairness.” He characterizes himself as a “Lincoln Republican.”
Taxes are a source of concern for Mr. Miller, who wondered, “Is anyone trying to control runaway spending?”
Decisions regarding taxes made now “will affect us, and will continue to affect Princeton residents for years to come,” he remarked. The fact that many public employees and workers in local shops and businesses live outside of Princeton owing to affordability was one symptom exemplifying Mr. Miller’s problem with high taxes.
On Princeton University’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), or voluntary contribution to the Borough every year, Mr. Miller suggested that they could “do better,” citing the larger contribution that Yale grants to New Haven and that Harvard gives Cambridge and Boston.
Streamlining transportation and parking in town are other issues that Mr. Miller finds essential to the smooth operation of the Borough. “I’m still a Dinky fan,” he said of the commuter rail line running between the University campus and Princeton Junction. “We need to make sure it runs more efficiently.”
Regarding consolidation, Mr. Miller said that “we need to see if we really save money. I don’t think we need to hire any more consultants.”
For now, his plan is to “wear out some shoe leather” by going door-to-door in the Borough, meeting neighbors and finding out what are the foremost concerns on people’s minds. “We need to account for everybody. I don’t want just Republicans to vote for me, I want to get the Independent voice, and some fans from the Democrats.”
Mr. Marks also plans to begin canvassing at the end of the summer to find out what constituents want and to “let them know who I am and what I represent.”
Having grown up in Princeton and graduated from Princeton High School in 1972, Mr. Marks has been involved in public finance, healthcare finance, interest rate swaps, and municipal lending in his professional life before moving on to real estate investments. “I am interested in land use, design, and having good results for the owners, tenants, and communities we’re a part of,” he said.
The “number one challenge” for the Borough is to “rein in spending,” Mr. Marks reasoned, adding that “the town needs to be much firmer in its demands, particularly now that we have a governor willing to assist municipalities like Princeton” in curtailing expenditures.
“The problem is not a revenue problem. The issue is to trim spending and to trim it meaningfully,” he noted, saying that having a “modestly-sized municipal operation” would assist with the scaling back.
Reducing the power of the public sector unions was one of Mr. Marks’s suggestions for trimming municipal spending. “When we get to the point where we have lavish contracts, the cost drivers continue unabated,” he said, adding that “in 2010 it’s ludicrous to have defined benefit pension plans.”
Mr. Marks says that the role of Council should involve “making it easy for people to live, do business, and work in the Borough, not to erect more hardships.” To do so involves “respect for the people who live and work here.”
“I don’t like to see the parking charges driven higher and higher. That seems to be a wrongheaded pursuit of revenue,” he added.
As for the relationship between Princeton University and the town, Mr. Marks reported that his father “spent his career as a professor at Princeton. I have great respect for the University.” Simultaneously, he feels that the PILOT is “like a token contribution. I think the University could be more generous,” he said, listing some areas like Washington Road and the site of the Dinky Station where there “might be opportunities for negotiated settlements.”
“I am very strongly, vehemently opposed to consolidation. I think the inevitable result of consolidation would be to turn the Borough into a commercial hub, which would involve relentless pressure for more structured parking downtown,” loosened height restrictions, and a dense core in the center of town, Mr. Marks said. “I like the Borough and I like it as a small town.”
For Mr. Marks, the guiding principle is “simple respect for the people who make up the town …. The Council members are there to facilitate, not to subjugate.”
Learn more about Roland Foster Miller at his web site: www.rolandfostermiller.com or email him ar romilljr@gmail.com.
Contact Peter Marks at marks4council@yahoo.com.
“I’m really an Independent,” observed Mr. Duncan, a former theater critic for the Princeton Packet. “I’ve lived in both the Township and the Borough, and I’m pleased that they’re looking at consolidation. The Township has the pluses; when I lived in the Borough I was all for consolidation.”
Mr. Miles’s view on consolidation is a measured one. “There may have been a time when all this was more affordable, but things are different now and we need to address financial concerns. The voters and the government know this. I’m for shared services, but we shouldn’t just blatantly eliminate one department or another.”
“I certainly want to take a look at the budget, and find out what some of the figures mean,” reported Mr. Miles, who is the Chairman and CEO of GPE, Inc., an information and data services provider.
“It’s not that I think anyone’s done anything badly,” said Mr. Duncan, recalling a time when there were “no Democrats around. Barbara Sigmund changed all that, and now there are no Republicans around. We need both.”
“I also believe that Governor Christie is doing the stuff that somebody had to do. Corzine was a finance guy, but he missed the opportunity,” Mr. Miles added. “Governor Christie is taking care of the sins of the past. The unfunded pension liability of the state is equal to the outstanding debt of Greece, and the fact that it was allowed to get this bad is outrageous.”
Mr. Duncan, who attended Princeton University, called the question of more financial support from the University “a tough one that applies more to the Borough than the Township. The Borough must be scared to death any time they see a new building being handed over to the University. I agree with the argument that the University contributes ‘panache’ to the community. The summer audience is particularly large because of the University; you used to be able to sit in the middle of Nassau Street during the summer and not see a car.”
“The challenge is that major universities in other cities have a bigger stake in their respective communities,” added Mr. Miles. “The last figures I’ve seen are that the University is still giving under $1 million to the Borough, and nothing to the Township. This needs updating, but an outright property tax may not be the answer.”
Both candidates were similarly cautious about supporting major changes at the Community Park Pool. “The Recreation Department is great, but I don’t think the voters understand what the issues are,” observed Mr. Miles. “I don’t think enough information about the degradation of the pool has been imparted to the public. Is there a less expensive way to do it?”
Regarding the recent prolonged argument about whether or not the Westerly Road Church should be allowed to construct a new facility on Princeton Ridge, Mr. Miles said “I don’t understand why it was so difficult. Is it zoning or planning issues?”
To learn more about the campaign platform, visit "Doug Miles" on Facebook.com or email him at dougmiles01@gmail.com. Contact Stu Duncan at DuncanStu50@aol.com.