Democratic incumbents look to hold onto Borough Council seats

Republican Rodney Fisk and Independent Dorothy Koehn are looking to unseat the two Democratic incumbents Wendy Benchley and Margaret Karcher in today's Borough Council election. Two of the six seats on the Council are up for grabs, as the four candidates face off for three-year terms.

None of the candidates, however, is a career politician. Benchley and Karcher were appointed to the Council to fill vacancies and are running in their first Borough Council elections. Fisk is the only candidate to spend a complete term on the council — serving from 1987 to 1989 — and Koehn has never held a political position.

Though they lack experience, each candidate has strong views on the issues.

All the candidates asserted they vehemently oppose a possible state-sanctioned ordinance that would permit police to cite underage drinkers on private property. Though the ordinance is a salient concern for students, and in some cases a motivating factor for voting in the council election, the candidates said it was not a major issue in this election.

In addition, all four oppose the proposed Millstone Bypass — an alternate road to U.S. Route 1 that would facilitate traffic flow by allowing the removal of three traffic lights from the highway.

Benchley, an environmental activist before entering public life, noted she has been successful in getting the state government to force the Department of Transportation to issue a full environmental impact statement. She said she hopes to influence the DOT to consider alternatives to the project.

Koehn — a 14-year resident of the Borough — is running what she calls "a single-issue campaign" to relocate the library, arts council and other civic facilities from the downtown area five blocks north to the corner of Witherspoon Street and Valley Road to alleviate traffic and parking problems.

Koehn's focus has forced this issue into the forefront of all the candidates' campaigns. Incumbent Council member Karcher disagrees with Koehn, saying the library should remain in the business district.

"The library belongs in the town as the cornerstone for development in that part of the downtown area," Karcher said.

Karcher said she plans to continue her effort to expand the downtown area by adding a larger parking structure, a supermarket within the district and moderately priced housing for students and graduates.

Fisk, who said he agrees with Koehn that the library should be moved away from downtown, said his main goals, if elected, would be to reduce taxes by 10 percent and to consolidate the bureaucracy in the Borough and Township. He listed the police departments and municipal buildings as examples of entities that could be consolidated to save money.

Fisk intends to become the first Republican on the council in nine years. The retired businessman, who has lived in the Borough for 25 years, said he can bring a different viewpoint to the Council.

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"I look at Borough Council like a precept," Fisk said. "Each student tries to follow the preceptors, who are merely parrots of the professor. They all come to Council with the same viewpoint."

The incumbents, however, faced different experiences before entering public life that may shape their viewpoints.

Before being elected as Mercer County freeholder, Benchley helped found the New Jersey Environmental Federation and led the fight against the Mercer incinerator.

If elected, Benchley said she plans to vary the businesses in the downtown area.

"I want to get a good mix of stores, restaurants and residences downtown," she said. "We can keep improving that to get more students into town."

Karcher said she has been "on the fringes of politics" for many years, campaigning for her husband, who was speaker of the New Jersey assembly for 16 years.