December 23, 2015

Quinn to Run for a Seat on Council, Miller Won’t Run for Council President

Tim Quinn, a former president of Princeton Public Schools and the director of communications for Princeton Public Library, announced last week that he will seek a seat on Princeton Council in the next election.

Bernie Miller, a Council member who has served as the governing body’s president for the past three years, said Monday that he will not stand for re-election to that position in 2016 but will continue his term on Council.

Mr. Quinn, a Democrat, currently serves as an alternate on the town’s Planning Board. In making his announcement last week, he said, “I want to help build a stronger, more inclusive and sustainable Princeton, where difference is celebrated and where all share in an abundance of municipal services and opportunities. In this stronger Princeton, newcomers will be embraced, and those, like me, who have lived here for a long time can continue to enjoy all our town has to offer.”

A Princeton resident since 1990, Mr. Quinn was an editor at The Trenton Times for 15 years before taking a job with the Princeton Public Library, where he has worked since 2000. He was part of a team that helped raise private funding for the library when it was renovated and rebuilt, and has helped increase visibility of the institution in the community.

“I love my job at the library, and it has given me an opportunity to meet people of all different and diverse groups, from our wealthier donors to people who rely on the library for essential services they might not be able to afford,” he said this week. “So my understanding of the town has certainly been deepened and enriched, and my understanding of the history of the town has also been greatly enhanced by working at the library. Under Leslie’s [Burger] leadership, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot, building a sense of community that’s now reflected in the fact that there’s one Princeton where there used to be two.”

Mr. Miller said in a statement that he has decided not to seek re-election to the post of Council president because he believes the practice of not serving more than three years on Council should also apply to the position of president.

“The position of Council president is that of first amongst equals,” he wrote. “The Council president acts in an executive role only when the mayor is not available. I also believe that the opportunity to serve as Council president should be rotated amongst the members of Council in order of seniority, so that all members of Council may have the opportunity to serve as Council president.”

There are two three-year terms becoming available on Council. Incumbent Jenny Crumiller, who served on the former Borough Council for three years before being elected to the combined Council, where she is finishing her third year, has said she will seek another term. Councilman Patrick Simon has indicated that he has not yet decided whether to run again for Council or if he will run for mayor. Current Mayor Liz Lempert announced in November that she will seek an additional term.