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Vol. LXI, No. 42
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Wednesday, October 17, 2007
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Vol. LXI, No. 42
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Wednesday, October 17, 2007
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The pun was easy enough. Linda Sipprelle is running — for Borough Council. And Linda Sipprelle is a runner. But while she has moved in the past with the speed of a record-holder, the Borough resident these days is critical of a governing body she sees as slow-footed, and hopes to stave off the challenge of incumbency.
It’s a tall order for Ms. Sipprelle, who, despite being a visible presence on the campaign trail this year, acknowledged that, as a Republican, it’s a tough race to win. But, she added, as any runner would, it’s a marathon.
“It’s certainly a lot harder as a Republican, but I’m not running a partisan campaign,” she said. “These aren’t national issues — we have enough problems right here and my party affiliation is not a big issue.”
Ms. Sipprelle hopes to be the first Republican elected to Borough Council since Ray Wadsworth won his seat in 1991. “It’s a big deal if you look at the numbers, but it’s not a big deal to me.”
Ms. Sipprelle, 72, has been present at most meetings this election cycle, and has approached Borough Council with the nagging issues that, she said, are indicative of Borough Hall’s “foot-dragging.”
“Knowing my background, I’ve lived all over the world, and I analyze a situation without preconceptions. I think the basic issue facing anyone running for office here in the Borough is to uphold the interests of the residents and try to get things done that will be to their benefit.”
Eager to get to the Borough issues of the day, Ms. Sipprelle tears through her background growing up in Latin America and India as the daughter of a diplomat before attending college in California and receiving her graduate degree from UCLA. A no-nonsense personality, Ms. Sipprelle, who ended up marrying a diplomat and living in Europe, Latin America, and Turkey, is only thinking about Princeton Borough right now.
Sponsored by Nike as a competitive runner, she then decided to join the diplomatic services, working for the U.S. State Department and being posted to Rome, Mexico City, and Vienna to “promote the interests of the U.S. abroad, establishing rapport with my counterparts, and work with them to completion: it could be in immigration, trade or anything.
“That’s what I’m going to do on Borough Council — support the interests of the taxpayers and I think my background has been very valuable in that regard,” she said.
Specifically, Ms. Sipprelle pointed to taxes. “We’re infamous for our tax burden here,” she said, “and this is an issue that I’m going to address. Each department, when the budgets are submitted, should be looked over carefully, and perhaps increases are justified, but I think it’s been the custom to just accept things and I’m calling for more scrutiny on those ‘soft spots’ in the budget.”
Crossing party lines, Ms. Sipprelle supports Township Committeeman Chad Goerner’s proposal for a citizen-based tax advisory committee, saying that she would work to “get that off the ground,” if elected. She also pointed to the consultant, Peter Martin, who was hired earlier this year by the Princetons following the voting down of the schools budget. “He did a review, and recommended $3.5 million could be saved, but we only agreed to a fraction of that. This is just one example.”
The stalled downtown redevelopment project is also troublesome to the candidate. “We don’t really know what’s going on, but Borough Council needs to remember their constituency in this case,” she said. “I just don’t feel that there’s a real responsiveness to the concerns that are raised before Borough Council. There are rules, but there are also ways that we can work with the citizens and find some type of solution. You can’t promise miracles, but you have to do the work.”
Ms. Sipprelle also said that relations with the Township government needed improvement, pointing to a Princeton Public Library board meeting where there were indications that the two towns would begin discussing ways to re-establish two-hour free parking for library users. “There was hope, but now I don’t think we’re going to hear back until December. Is that the way to do business? We don’t run our households that way, and that’s just not the way it’s done.
“The squabbles between the Borough and Township aren’t helping anyone.”
Princeton University is also a point of concern for Ms. Sipprelle, particularly when analyzing the annual, voluntary contributions to Princeton Borough. The University and Borough are currently midway through a three-year agreement where the school pays the municipality $1 million per year, with added percentage increases commensurate with municipal budgetary increases. The University paid an estimated $3.7 million in total local taxes in the Borough last year, a point Ms. Sipprelle acknowledges, while suggesting the need for a more formulaic approach to the voluntary contribution. “We can’t expect them to give us money unless we approach them and offer ways that they could contribute.”
Ms. Sipprelle, who lives on Nassau Street with her husband, also shares the town with one of her four sons. “I’m in paradise here — it’s wonderful, but you want to keep it that way.
“Princeton is the center of this part of the state, and it needs attention. It can’t be business as usual anymore.”