And then there were two. At 4 p.m. Thursday, September 14, the deadline passed for candidates to enter the race for the West Windsor Town Council seat up for election this November. Barbara Pfeifer will run against Will Anklowitz to try to keep the council position she currently holds.
The Princeton Junction Neighborhood Coalition will host the first of three debates between the candidates, on October 5 at 7 p.m. at the West Windsor Senior Center. The format for the debate will be a 90-minute discussion and question and answer session. The event is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters, who will provide a moderator.
The Village Grande at Bear Creek will host the second debate between Pfeifer and Anklowitz, on Monday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. The event, sponsored by the Village Grande Civic Association Executive Board, will give both candidates a chance to present their platforms and answer questions.
The Civic Association Executive Board members will ask prepared questions of the candidates. Barbara Pfeifer’s campaign manager, Marvin Gardner, lives in the Village Grande and is on the executive board. Gardner says this does not present a conflict of interest. “”I am not privy to the questions that will be asked. I leave the executive board room any time the debate is being discussed,”” says Gardner.
The Village Grande also hosted mayoral debates when Gardner was managing the campaign of incumbent Shing-Fu Hsueh, who eventually was re-elected by a wide margin.
The third debate between Anklowitz and Pfeifer will be at the West Windsor Senior Center, on Monday, October 23. The format for this and the Village Grande debate will involve opening statements, a question and answer period with prepared questions, timed answers and rebuttals, and closing statements.
Anklowitz and Pfeifer were among 10 candidates who vied for the council seat in May, when Pfeifer was eventually selected by her fellow council members. Kristin Appelget had vacated the seat in the middle of her term, which would have ended next March.
As a result, Council devised a selection process and chose Pfeifer on an interim basis. The seat must now be filled by an elected candidate to complete the term. The same position will then be up for election again in March.
Pfeifer has announced she will hold a fund raiser on Sunday, October 8 from noon – 4:30 p.m. The Buffet Reception will be held at Super Star East on Nassau Park Boulevard. For tickets, which cost $25, contact Heidi Kleinman, 716-8094, or Wendy Lee, 799-8552.
