Woodbridge ’65 named GOP nominee in mayoral election

Former mayor of Princeton Township and Princeton Borough Council President Richard Woodbridge ’65 declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for mayor of Princeton last Friday. Woodbridge is currently a partner and an intellectual property lawyer at the law office of Fox Rothchild LLP in Lawrenceville.

Woodbridge served on the Borough Council from 1977 to 1987 and as mayor of the Township from 1991 to 1992. As the two governments plan to consolidate this January, Woodbridge is stressing his experience in both governments as a major credential in his run for the new mayorship.

“Having been the former mayor and councilman, it gives me an overview of what both towns are like and what is it like to run both,” he said.

Woodbridge is the only Republican candidate for mayor. Two Democrats, Township Deputy Mayor Liz Lempert and Borough Councilman Kevin Wilkes ’83, have declared their candidacy. Lempert won the endorsement from the Princeton Community Democratic Organization last week.

“He is a great guy, and I welcome him into the race for mayor,” Wilkes said. Lempert could not be reached for comment.

Princeton Republican Committee Chairman Dudley Sipprelle has endorsed Woodbridge’s candidacy.

“We’re delighted that he’s running and think that he’s a great candidate for mayor,” Sipprelle said. “He has a lot of experience and is very active in community affairs. He is an individual that will be able to bring new ideas and creativity to local government.”

Woodbridge said that there are two types of issues facing the municipality that he would tackle if elected. For one, there are the immediate problems that Princeton currently faces, such as the retirement of Township Chief of Police Robert Buchanan after four decades of service. Woodbridge said that with Buchanan’s retirement, Princeton lost someone with valuable experience in public safety.

But though the municipality is facing urgent problems, Woodbridge said that the local government should not lose track of the future.

“There are a lot of things looking forward, and you can’t get stuck in the past and present,” Woodbridge said.

Though Woodbridge supports the ongoing consolidation of the Borough and the Township, he said he is concerned about the funding and resources for the merger. While the State of New Jersey encouraged the two municipalities to consolidate and offered to provide funding to cover 20 percent of the transition costs, Woodbridge said he is skeptical on the state’s commitment to partly foot the bill. He said it would be a huge disappointment if the new municipality ended up with greater expense than it had initially been expecting under the deal cut with the state.

“The state has encouraged us to merge, but are they going to provide the resources that they planned to provide?” Woodbridge said.

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As an alumnus and a former president of the Class of 1965, Woodbridge said he has a sense of how the University functions. He explained he would like to see closer and better communication between the University and the town.

“The University is having a bigger impact on Princeton now that it did when I was growing up,” Woodbridge, who grew up in Princeton, said. “In short, the University is growing faster than the town, so both institutions need to work more closely in the future.”

Upon taking office, Woodbridge said he would sit down with members of the University administration to see how the town-gown relationship can be improved. He said he would possibly schedule an open agenda meeting with the University.

“If [I am] fortunate enough to be elected, the University continues to be a growing presence in the town and it’s important for them to see what the town wants,” Woodbridge said. “We want to get a continuing sense of where the town wants to go synergistically.”

After graduating from the University with a degree in electrical engineering, Woodbridge went to The George Washington University for law school. Woodbridge also served as the commissioner of the Borough’s police and fire departments for three years each and as the chairman of the Borough’s public works committee.