To the Editor:

With 40 years of involvement in Democratic politics in Princeton and Mercer County, I am supporting Mia Sacks for election to Princeton Council because I believe that her proven abilities, her decade of service to the community, and her commitment to an affordable Princeton equip her to make a difference. Mia is widely recognized for her ability to listen, to understand all sides of an issue, and to help groups with disparate views find common ground. She is energetic, straightforward, and substantive.

Mia understands Princeton local government, how it works, and the challenges it faces. She has learned from the ground up, serving on numerous municipal, school, and community boards and committees. She is a member of the Planning Board and Master Plan Subcommittee and a former member of the Environmental Commission. She is well grounded in issues affecting neighborhood preservation, affordable and “missing middle” housing, and the traffic, parking, and design issues affecting the viability of our central business district.  She has long had a leadership role in Sustainable Princeton and can claim among her accomplishments the introduction of a program supporting sustainability, health, and wellness in the public schools.

Mia is deeply committed to inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability as fundamental to good government and effective decision-making. These principles are consistent with her lifetime of advocacy for human rights and democracy through her professional work for Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute and the National Office of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Most important, Mia recognizes the urgency of facing head on the core issue of affordability that threatens Princeton’s quality of life. Like family before her, she is a product of our public schools and deeply invested in a tradition of community service. She is determined to find solutions.

Ensuring the affordability of Princeton is essential to preserving the economic diversity that for so long has been part of what we all love about this town. When Mia says that Princeton is at a “crossroads,” she is referring to this challenge. She believes the starting point is a public collaboration among the municipality, the schools, our commercial sector, and the University, to identify means for achieving a shared vision for the future of our community. I am certain that Mia will work effectively with her colleagues and community stakeholders to facilitate this process.

Please join me in supporting Mia Sacks for Princeton Council.

Walter Bliss
Moore Street