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Council members have little to say on mayor’s possible participation in talks with university

Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert is facing no resistance or opposition from the Princeton Council to her possibly being part of future negotiations with her husband’s employer, Princeton University, to voluntarily give millions of dollars each year to the municipality.

Lempert floated that prospect last month by saying she had not made up her mind whether or not she would be involved when the time comes to strike a new deal with Nassau Hall.

At the moment, the two sides have a seven-year agreement that runs through 2020 and calls for the university to provide $21.7 million in total to the municipality.

Lempert, whose husband, Ken Norman, is a psychology professor at the university, has dismissed any suggestion she has a conflict of interest in the matter.

Since her comments in June, council members who will be on the governing body when talks with the university begin and the two Democrats running for council have weighed in on the prospect of Lempert having a seat at the negotiating table. None said she had a conflict or that she should recuse herself, with the leader of the Democratic-controlled council wanting to avoid the topic altogether.

Council President Jenny Crumiller declared, “I don’t really want to get into this” when asked her view during a recent interview. “I’m not going to talk about this anymore because I’m not comfortable without talking to Liz about this.”

Councilman David Cohen, who is pushing for the university to contribute more financially than it already does, said he had “faith” in the mayor’s ability to be objective.

“I would not object to her being involved with it,” he said, “if the attorneys say it’s OK and she decides that she wants to put herself through that.”

Other officials declined to say what they think Lempert should do.

“I can’t speak for her, honestly,” Councilwoman Leticia Fraga said on July 2.

“I don’t really have an opinion on that right now,” Councilman Tim Quinn said on July 2.

The council is not expected to take up the issue anytime soon, so Lempert indicated feeling no urgency to make up her mind.

“I don’t expect it to come up for probably another year, at least several months,” Lempert said on July 2. “So I’ll decide at the time.”

In April 2014, the town and the university announced they had reached a deal for the university to provide annual financial contributions and to provide other funds to pay for building a new headquarters for the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, among other things.

University President Christopher L. Eisgruber, in a press release, said at the time that Princeton was “pleased” to make the contributions “and in doing so to reaffirm both our desire to help sustain the vitality and well-being of our home community and our deep appreciation for the many aspirations and interests we share.”

Lempert recused herself from those negotiations. She said she did so not because she felt she had a conflict or even the appearance of one.

“It had become too much about me and I thought that was distracting and not in the best interest of the municipality,” she told reporters in June.

Cohen said he thought there would be pushback from the community if Lempert wants to be part of the negotiations.

“I think there’s a vocal group in town who are very upset about the university’s contribution,” said Cohen, who is looking for a university with an endowment in excess of $23 billion to contribute more money to the town. “I think it would be tough on her to have to be the target of what would come out of that particular group of citizens.”

The two Democrats running for council, Eve Niedergang and Dwaine Williamson, would serve with Lempert starting next year if they are elected in November.

“I think that is up to her and the town attorney,” Niedergang said. “I’m sure she would bring a lot to the table if she was involved, but it’s up to her to make that decision.”

Williamson, calling Lempert “a very thoughtful person of impeccable integrity,” said the mayor would “make the decision that’s best for Princeton, as she always does.”

“As the mayor of Princeton,” Republican council candidate Lisa Wu said on July 3, “she should put the interest of the people in front of everything.”

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