By Donald Gilpin

With a few final mail-ins and provisional ballots still being counted, incumbent Mara Franceschi and new candidates Christopher Santarpio and Ari Meisel have won three-year terms on the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) beginning January 1, 2025, defeating three other challengers in a hotly contested race.

The unofficial results based on most recent tallies show Franceschi as the top vote-getter with 5,617 votes (20.66 percent), followed by Santarpio with 4,851 (17.84 percent) and Meisel with 4,662 (17.15 percent). Erica Snyder fell short with 4,523 votes (16.64 percent), as did Z. Lisa Potter with 4.385 (16.13 percent) and Shenwei Zhao with 3,084 (11.34 percent).

Final counts and certification by the Mercer County clerk are expected to take place next week.

Franceschi reflected on her success, which she saw as a vote for experience and for the accomplishments of the current Board. “I ran because I truly think experience matters and is important,” she wrote in an email. “I believe our community shares this value. I hope my reelection reflects the community’s satisfaction with the direction of the district and the Board’s positive work over the last year and a shared optimism for the future.”

Franceschi went on to express her commitment to “build on the positive momentum in the district,” and she added, ”We have exciting challenges coming up in the next months as we hire our new superintendent and bring the referendum to the voters.”

Santarpio thanked the community “for their support and confidence in me” and “for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility.” He noted his intention to help foster “further collaboration with the town and external organizations.”

He continued, “I am excited to embark on this journey with each of you, collaborating to enrich our programs, support our teachers, and build a safe and dynamic environment where students thrive.”

Meisel also affirmed his gratitude for the “trust Princeton voters have placed in me,” and stated, “I see it as a clear message that our community values collaboration, inclusivity, and a student-centered approach to education.”

He added, “As I begin this journey on the BOE, my priorities will focus on strengthening community collaboration, enhancing student preparedness, and supporting staff through professional development initiatives. We need to ensure that all students have the resources they need to thrive and that we’re fostering an environment where every family feels engaged and supported.”

Local municipal elections were uncontested with Princeton Mayor Mark Freda winning another four-year term and incumbent Leighton Newlin and new candidate Brian McDonald both securing three-year terms on Princeton Council.

Freda thanked his constituents and reaffirmed his commitment “to work hard for everyone that lives in Princeton.” He also highlighted some of the items on his agenda going forward.

“Many issues will come up over the next few years,” Freda wrote. “A happy event, the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding will be celebrated in 2026, and a lot of planning for that is going on already. We will hopefully own Westminster Choir College property and be working on a plan for that. There are housing needs, affordable per the State, but also affordable for working class families. Density will be another topic as we look at how to provide more housing. And transportation — can we develop a real transportation system for Princeton?”

He continued, “The stormwater utility idea continues to be developed — how to address the needs of our stormwater system and address the climate changes that impact our ability to deal with more storms and flooding. Attracting new businesses to Princeton —what do we need to do to make Princeton the choice as the place to start a new business? And we need services for those in our community who are facing challenges with food, clothing, and shelter. We have a lot to do, we need residents to be involved, we need to work together.”

Newlin echoed some of the points on the mayor’s agenda, and emphasized the importance of “continuing to build our human infrastructure of care around social services and also elevating the quality of life and living for marginalized residents, especially those who live in public housing.” He also called for “taking a deeper look at the impact of short-term rentals, absentee landlords, and gentrification on our senior residents and homeowners.”

Newlin went on to advocate increasing representation of minority- and women-owned businesses in Princeton’s central business district, as well as building diversity and inclusion in affordable housing units, “in a town where the gap between those who have and those who have not grows wider by the day.”

Other items on Newlin’s agenda include working on a cooperative agreement between the municipality and the housing authority to reduce operating expenses through shared services, and continuing talks with Princeton University about its growth and development and possibilities for drawing on University resources to assist the Princeton Housing Authority.

“Last but not least,” said Newlin, “I’ll continue to listen carefully to the residents to make myself available, and why? Because I’m local.”

McDonald, who will join Council on January 1, 2025, expressed his anticipation of working closely with the mayor and members of Princeton Council. “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves, I’m eager to listen to and work with residents, taxpayers, businesses, institutions, schools, nonprofits, and houses of faith, and to do all that I can to make sure that we remain a strong, diverse, affordable, and compassionate community.”

McDonald went on to praise Eve Niedergang, who will be stepping down from her Council seat at the end of the year. “I am very grateful for Eve Niedergang’s six years of service on Council and for her longstanding and continuing commitment to our community,” he said. “I look forward to advocating for many of her priorities, especially her focus on sustainability and our local environment.”

In other local elections on the ballot last week, Democrat Andy Kim secured New Jersey’s U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Robert Menendez. With 2,084,418 votes (53.4 percent) at most recent count according to the Associated Press, Kim defeated Republican Curtis Bashaw, who had 1,727,066 votes (44.2 percent).

In the contest for U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 12th District, incumbent Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman with 188,440 votes (61.1 percent) defeated Republican Darius Mayfield, who has received 112,834 votes (36.6 percent).

In the election to three seats for three-year terms on the Mercer County Board of Commissioners, Democrats Kristin L. Mclaughlin with 95,204 votes (22.27 percent), Samuel Frisby with 93,157 votes (21.79 percent), and Terrance Stokes with 93,035 votes (21.76 percent) prevailed over Republican opponents Andrew Curcio with 49,227 votes (11.51 percent), Pedro Reyes with 48,542 (11.35 percent) and Denise “Neicy” Turner with 48,265 votes (11.29 percent).