By Anne Levin

Mark Freda

At a virtual press conference on Friday morning, Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, a Democrat, announced his intention to seek a second term in the November election. The primary is on June 4.

Freda, who grew up in Princeton and is president of the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, said he intends to build on his mission over the past three years to “build lasting relationships — within our community, with neighboring municipalities, and at the county, state, and federal levels.”

Leading with transparency has been a focus Freda said he intends to continue. Asked following the press conference about those who have complained that there is not enough transparency in local government, he said that changes in the way information is delivered, in recent years, can present a challenge. With less print media, people have had to adjust to getting their news from multiple sources.

“So, we need to be doing more,” he said. “I’m always telling people to sign up for the municipal newsletter, come to our meetings, or watch them on YouTube. The public, unfortunately, has to make a little more of an effort than they used to. And we need to be sure we are providing as much information, as often as possible. That’s why I try to be everywhere, almost every day. It gives people an opportunity to talk to me.”

Freda’s first term came just after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was sworn in, with only his family in attendance, over Zoom.

“We navigated the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in his announcement. “We’ve supported, and continue to support, those in need. We transitioned to remote and now hybrid meetings of the mayor and Council to keep our operations running.”

The past three years “have also brought expanded relationships with Mercer County, with our State Assembly and Senate representatives, and with Princeton University,” he said. “Significant progress has been made for the future of our municipality: a renegotiation of our agreement with Princeton University; Experience Princeton, our Special Improvement District, is bringing focus and action to our business community and the local economy. We are investigating ways to improve our public transportation system, and there is an ongoing commitment to affordable housing.”

Running for a second term “was something I gave a lot of thought to,” he said after the press conference. “In the back of my mind, I was hopeful I’d want to do it, and be in a position that hopefully people would be enthusiastic about and say, ‘Yes, that makes sense.’ And I wanted to make sure my family was on board.”

Freda said he welcomes the exchange of ideas that the coming campaign will bring, and he looks forward to hearing from residents about their concerns and ideas in the months leading up to the primary. He is unaware of any who might challenge his run, “but that’s why I wanted to do this now and not wait too long,” he said. “Last time there were four other people thinking of running, with different degrees of seriousness. I sat down with all of them and was very fortunate that, after talking with them, they were comfortable with me running [unopposed].”

Freda’s statement concluded, “My commitment to you is this: I will continue to leverage my over 40 years of experience in civic and public service to address these challenges head-on,” he said. “We will work together to keep Princeton a vibrant, diverse, and forward-thinking community.”