For the first time in more than 20 years, the governor of New Jersey will be living in Princeton. As of Aug. 14, Gov. Mikie Sherrill and the first family have moved into the Drumthwacket Governor’s mansion, just over a mile from Nassau Hall. Sherrill is the first Governor to use Drumthwacket as a primary residence since former Governor Jim McGreevey’s term in 2004.
From Easter egg hunts to Christmas parties, the Drumthwacket Governor’s mansion has often been nicknamed “The People’s House” by opening its doors to members of the community. Following Sherrill’s move into the Princeton estate, local businesses and residents are looking forward to how she might engage with the surrounding community.
“I got to go to the Governor’s Christmas party at the Governor’s mansion, and I took my niece to the Easter egg hunt for the little kids,” Greg Kutch, a retired programmer who worked for the Governor’s office, told The Daily Princetonian. “It was very nice.”
Residents were optimistic that Sherrill’s move to Stockton Street would bring her closer to the local Princeton community.
“It is good when the government reaches local-level individuals, and they can see where their influence affects their constituents,” Deveon Robinson, a lifelong New Jersey resident and a restaurant supervisor at Alfalfa, said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’
Robinson added that getting away from “general politics” could help the governor better understand the people who are directly impacted by government decisions. Sherill previously lived with Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger in Washington while the two served in the House of Representatives.
“We hope [Sherrill] will get to know the community in all of its breadth and enjoy the many things that make Princeton home to so many different people,” Shannon Hurley, director of marketing and communications at Princeton Public Library, wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’
Gabrielle Carbone, co-owner of The Bent Spoon, expressed excitement at Sherrill’s move, stating that her new proximity is going “to be a wonderful thing.”
“It is a town with so much to offer a family,” Carbone said, specifically mentioning “walking the trails with the kids, shopping at Whole Earth Center, participating in an arts council program, outdoor concerts on the green, [and] seeing a show at McCarter” as local highlights.
Governor Sherrill “could integrate into the community by doing a ‘kajillion’ different kinds of things,” said Carbone.
When Carbone was asked what The Bent Spoon hopes Sherrill will learn from everyday life at Princeton, she said that The Bent Spoon and other local shops are “really micro businesses,” noting the high cost of employee healthcare for small businesses.
“She’s not going to be able to get universal health care implemented. But she might really get to see the ways in which even the smallest businesses work hard to participate in this economy,” Carbone said, adding, “Our story is a story times a million all over the whole state.”
Hurley also noted that the library is “paying close attention” to a New Jersey Senate bill that would regulate how copyright owners place restrictions on licenses of electronic literary materials.
“That has a real impact on how we use public dollars,” Hurley wrote, noting that the library “would approach the governor … in that institutional capacity.”
While Princeton’s local businesses welcomed Sherrill to the town, some locals urged the Governor not to lose sight of the greater New Jersey community.
“New Jersey is not just the special [towns] where Princeton and Fairleigh Dickinson reside,” Robinson said. “It’s the places of Paterson and Newark and Orange, and I think that’s really the big focus of what New Jerseyans are looking for — so that there isn’t a divide between the haves and the have-nots.”
Novia Chiang is a News contributor for the ‘Prince’ and a member of the Class of 2030 from New Jersey and Indiana.
Albert Tan is a News contributor for the ‘Prince’ and a member of the Class of 2030 from Shanghai and Hangzhou, China.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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