To the Editor:

I am voting for Tim Quinn for Princeton Council in the June 7 election and urge that all eligible voters do the same. Tim has demonstrated through his leadership roles on Princeton’s Board of Education and Planning Board that he has the character and skills to be an excellent addition to our council.

In our community, Tim demonstrated his leadership in tough circumstances. When he was president of the school board in 2011, Governor Christie cut the state aid contribution to Princeton schools by two-thirds — 5 percent of the budget — after appropriating most of the budget surplus in 2010. The school board had to take timely and critical spending actions that would impact students, teachers, and taxpayers. In this crisis situation Board members made the difficult decisions after thoroughly considering all perspectives. They communicated those decisions to constituents in a way that citizens understood their reasoning and that left everyone feeling that their individual concerns were heard and considered. This is the type of leadership that we need on Princeton Council.

I have been concerned that the intense passion with which our current Council considers and legislates some of the issues they face can diminish the decisions made, interfere in their pursuit of a longer-term agenda, and obscure opportunities and risks that are appearing in the distance. I think that Tim’s thoughtful and collected approach will be invaluable to the overall performance of Council and thus benefit the long-term well being of our town.

Tim has lived in Princeton for 25 years and works at the Princeton Public Library on its executive team. He is an avid cyclist. He believes in proactively planning and managing growth, expanding affordable housing, building strong neighborhoods, balancing affordability with quality municipal services, and building community consensus around positive changes.

Princeton is fortunate to have so many citizens dedicating their efforts to the well being of our town. We’re fortunate that Tim Quinn wants to be on Council and I urge Princeton voters to give him that opportunity.

Scott Sillars

Patton Avenue