To the Editor:

The mayor and Princeton Council gave themselves a 33 percent pay raise this year on the grounds that a raise would ensure that more candidates would run for local office. Get real.

There was no lack of candidates for local elected office last year. The current mayor and Council hold office by campaigning within the Democratic political club, and used the club to beat back other Democratic challengers. What has been lacking in recent years, and again this year, is a voice for the community that is not beholden to the local Democratic club.

I’m a candidate and challenger for Princeton Council this year. I seek support from all quarters: Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. And I am not running in order to give myself a pay hike. If elected, I pledge not to take one.

We can all agree that we who run for office don’t do it for the money. We offer our services because of our commitment to the community.

That commitment, shared by Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike, has been tarnished by mayor and Council’s present proposal to give themselves a steep pay hike during their first year of office. And it has been further tarnished by the disingenuous argument that they seek the pay hike not out of self-interest but to help the rest of us.

Princeton voters deserve leadership that is forthright and plain-spoken and not disrespectful of the electorate’s intelligence.

Fausta Rodríguez Wertz

Snowden Lane