To the Editor:

Many people run for elected office for reasons unrelated to public service — perhaps vanity, boredom, or personal grievances, to name a few. That’s why I am once again supporting Leticia Fraga for Princeton Council in the Democratic primary. I have zero doubts Leticia is running only because she wants to continue to serve the community. It’s refreshing to feel that way about an elected official these days. 

Now, I understand it’s foolish to assume anyone’s intentions but with Leticia, we have the receipts. Before being elected to Council in 2017, Leticia had served as chair of various commissions and boards, from the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund to the YWCA, Princeton Community Housing, Send Hunger Packing Princeton, and the Civil Rights Committee of Human Services. As a member of Council, she has continued to pursue issues related to health, equality, and social justice on committees including Human Services, Board of Health and Public Safety. (All even more critical now as we address the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19.)

If you attend any community event — quite literally any event — you will see Leticia. She’s not there glad-handing, but more likely helping run the thing. The last two times I’ve run into Leticia in town, she was picking up litter and painting sidewalk warnings to keep walkers and bicyclists safe.    

In fact, when Leticia first ran for the Democratic nomination to Council in 2016, her only hesitancy was the business of government would take her away from her work in our community. In an email to friends and family announcing her candidacy, she wrote, “Because I enjoy my work on the various boards and commissions I am involved in, I felt that to seriously consider a run for Council, I would have to wait until the time was right.”

The time is right, once again. 

Chris Johnson
Benjamin Rush Lane