Volume LXXIV, Number 2
HomeFront Week of Hope Begins January 20 . . . . . 5 Local Environmentalists Hoping for Ban on Plastic Bags . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Big Time Concert Reading Brings Stars to McCarter Theatre . . . . 10 PU Men’s Hoops Defeats Penn in Ivy League Opener . . . . . . 20 Hennessy Stepping Up for PHS Girls’ Basketball . . . . . . . . . . 24 Junior Star Gorman Helps PDS Boys’ Hockey Get Back on Track . . . . . . . 24
Abbie Danko Leading the Way for Hun Girls’ Swimming . . . . . . . . . . 25 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .18, 19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 15 Classified Ads . . . . . . 30 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 28 Performing Arts . . . . . 13 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 30 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6 Note: Stuart Mitchner’s Review Will Return Next Week
www.towntopics.com
BOE Reorganizes, Elects President, VP, Plans 2020 Agenda The Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) elected Beth Behrend to her second year as president and Michele Tuck-Ponder as its new vice president at its annual reorganization meeting on Monday night. Susan Kanter, Dafna Kendal, and Debbie Bronfeld took the oath of office to begin new terms as BOE members. Kanter is new to the BOE. Kendal, who served from 2015 to 2018, and Bronfeld, who has been on the BOE since 2016, begin their second three-year terms. Behrend and Tuck-Ponder both were elected by 7-3 margins. Behrend was the only nominee for president but received three “no” votes, while Tuck-Ponder defeated Bronfeld for the vice president position. “Beth has worked tirelessly to make the Board a more collegial, collaborative, and effective governing body, and she has evidenced a great commitment to ensuring that every voice is heard,” said Board member Brian McDonald. “She has fundamentally changed our relationship with the community, she has fostered for more openness and transparency, and has actively worked to strengthen important relationships.” “It is an honor and a privilege to serve another year as your leader,” said Behrend. “I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their tireless dedication to our public schools. We are pleased to welcome new and returning members tonight who bring strong skills and experience to our team. I look forward to working collaboratively on our shared mission of preparing PPS students for lives of joy and purpose.” Board member Jessica Deutsch praised Tuck-Ponder’s focus on the need to “lead with our values.” “In my experience, Michele has held absolutely steadfast to this guiding principle, making her an exemplary presence at this table, one that lends naturally to the kind of leadership we continue to need,” Deutsch said. Climbing enrollments and the need for more classrooms will be one of the biggest challenges in 2020, and in September the BOE retained Milone & MacBroom, a planning and consulting firm specializing in work with public school districts, to validate enrollment growth and capacity data and to engage the Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Mayor Lempert Won’t Run For a Third Term Toward the end of her remarks at Princeton Council’s annual reorganization meeting on Thursday, January 2, Mayor Liz Lempert announced that she will not seek a third term. “I believe it is healthy for governments to change hands and for officials to pass the baton,” she said, adding, “This isn’t goodbye yet for me — a year is a long time and I look forward to a supercharged year with this energetic Council.” The meeting, which Lempert began by observing a moment of silence for recently deceased Rabbi Adam Feldman and prominent Princeton residents Daniel Harris, Eric Craig, and Irving Newlin, marked the swearing in of new Council members Michelle Pirone Lambros and Mia Sacks. Councilman David Cohen was sworn in as Council president. A few days after the meeting, Lempert reflected on her decision to step down when her term ends at the end of this year. She is ready to think about exploring other avenues, but would not say which. “There are a lot of issues I am passionate about, and I can see myself working on any one of those,” she said. “But I have no specific plans.”
Lempert has been mayor since the 2013 consolidation of Princeton Borough and Princeton Township. Previous to that, she served for four years as a member of the Township Committee. She began her career as a journalist, but segued into politics after working on the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. Politics is in her blood — her mother was mayor of San Mateo, California, and one of her brothers was also an elected official. “My mother was a help to me, especially in the beginning of my first term,” she said. ”Also, she was on the school board when I was growing up. So I helped
her with her campaigns. I remember that when she was on the school board, she had to do one of the absolute worst things for any elected official, which was close one of the elementary schools. I knew how hard that was for her. We have really different personalities, and I never thought of myself as an elected official. But I guess I absorbed it without realizing it.” With her younger daughter off to college in the fall, Lempert and her husband, Princeton professor Ken Norman, will be empty nesters. “It will be a new chapter Continued on Page 8
Peace Coalition Plans Anti-War Rally, Voter Campaign, Multifaith Service
The Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) announced Tuesday that a Rally for No War with Iran will take place from 12-1 p.m. this Saturday, January 11, at Hinds Plaza adjacent to the Princeton Public Library. Confirmed speakers so far include Zia Mian, physicist and co-director of Princeton University’s Program on Science and
Global Security; former fighter pilot Richard Moody; and CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore. The CFPA has started the new year in high gear with a campaign to prevent war with Iran, its ongoing 2020 Peace Voter Campaign, and plans in place for a January 20 Martin Luther King Jr. Multifaith Continued on Page 9
THREE KINGS CELEBRATION: Lively flamenco dancing was a highlight of Sunday’s Fiesta del Dia de Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day, festivities at the Arts Council of Princeton . Marking the end of the holiday season, Three Kings Day is celebrated throughout the world by several different cultures . Participants share what they learned at the event in this week’s Town Talk on page 6 . (Photo by Erica M. Cardenas)
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