To the Editor:

While attending the college commencement ceremony for my daughters a couple of years ago, a respected Princeton University professor addressed the graduates and suggested that we get involved in our local government to ensure that it sets the example for how we want our institutions, services, and communities to operate. With this advice in mind, I am pleased to learn that Mark Freda is a candidate for mayor of Princeton.

We are seeing in real time that elections matter. At this critical time, I’d like to suggest that here in Princeton, where much is going well, we also need to be focusing on the improvement of the basic blocking and tackling of our local government services.

I first came to know Mark as a fellow Littlebrook parent many years ago at a time when all of our schools were undergoing major renovations. With construction difficulties mounting, we were both concerned parents. At community meetings, Mark was a positive, constructive, and calming representative for parents who had concerns about the condition and the safety of the schools during the construction period. I specifically remember that procedure modifications suggested by Mark were significant in addressing many of the parents’ safety and environmental concerns.

His history as a leader of the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad and as Princeton’s emergency services director, as a past Borough councilman, and as a volunteer on the task force when we merged the Borough and Township municipal operations together, combined with over 30 years of extremely practical corporate experience, have prepared Mark to be an effective and visionary mayor.

I feel confident that as we address a range of issues facing our great community, Mark will be an outstanding advocate for all Princetonians and a strong manager steering our municipal departments to provide excellence in meeting the needs of the residents, merchants, and educators of this special town. I for one, strongly support Mark Freda as a candidate for Mayor.

Michael Bloom
Rollingmead Street