Candidates debate town-gown relations at forum

The four candidates for the Princeton Borough Council spoke to approximately 25 students in a nearly empty Frist 302 last night. Introduced by USG campus and community affairs chair Nina Langsam '03, the candidates each had several minutes to make opening remarks, and students were able to ask questions of the candidates afterward.

Joseph O'Neill (D), 68, spoke first. Reading from a 1938 University tour guide booklet, O'Neill tried to explain to students some of the history of the town. Around that time, he said, African-American residents living in the Palmer Square area were driven from their homes when the square was leveled. "Were the students of that day — were they concerned with the disruption?" he wondered aloud.

O'Neill said there is "a second great removal in which the African-American community, which has been here for over 150 years, is gradually going down to zero."

O'Neill has been a member of the council since this summer, when he was appointed to fill a vacated seat.

Roger Martindell (D), 51, who has been a council member since 1989, continued the discussion along similar lines. "I cannot imagine a larger division between the University and the town in which it resides," he said.

"Unless that dialogue between this side and that side of Nassau Street continues, we're going to go our separate ways."

Martindell said he was pleased to see that students this year are interested in local politics. "Let this not be the last year it happens," he said.

The interest, however, may be prompted by Steven Abt '04's run for a council seat.

"I offer a different voice than anyone else running for council," he said in his opening remarks. Agreeing that the council needs to have a connection with students — who make up 20 percent of the Borough population, he said — Abt also recognized that the connection must go both ways.

"Students must end their apathy for local politics," he said.

Michael Carnevale II (R), 43, the last candidate to speak, said the changes in racial diversity might be attributed to changes in the local economy. The increasing tax burden, Carnevale said, "is crushing some of the residents."

"Without meaningful, systematic, thoughtful contribution" from the nonprofit institutions in the Borough, Carnevale said some residents will be "squeezed out of town."

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Carnevale ended his opening remarks by ingenuously summarizing that his plan for "payments in lieu of taxes" from the University might raise students' tuition. This statement did not go over well with the audience.

In response to a student's question, Carnevale said the most important issue, to him, was the "continued financial viability" of the Borough. He later explained that although the Borough is not having trouble balancing its budget, the increasing value of property in the Borough is burdening residents with higher taxes, which some cannot afford.

O'Neill pointed out that half the Borough's households are rented. "Those who rent are not rich," he said, dispelling what he said was a misconception among students that Princeton is primarily a wealthy area.

When a student asked the four candidates what they thought the Borough's role should be in facing any campus problems with alcohol consumption, Martindell replied, "We on the other side of Nassau Street have very little contact with what is going on — except through the emergency room."

He said he would want the council to hear input from students and other campus community members on whether or not a problem exists and how to resolve it.

Abt, on the other hand, said, "I don't know if there is a place for the Borough in this."

O'Neill joked, "No representation without taxation."

There are two seats open on the council, on which members serve three-year terms. Borough residents — including students who have registered to vote in the Borough — will vote for two candidates at the election on Nov. 6.