The lone write-in candidate running for Town Council, Gregory Harris, will not be participating in the October 24 debate with the six official candidates. The reason: Another repercussion of the insufficient number of petitions that were submitted to the township clerk’s office, which left him off the ballot as an independent in the November 8 election.
Candidates for town council have confirmed their participation in the debate hosted by the West Windsor Retirees’ Group, headed by Ron Slinn, and the Village Grande Civic Association, headed by Ed O’Mara.
Slinn said the debate is only for those officially on the ballot. Harris, however, feels slighted. He was included in Slinn’s blanket invitation to all individuals who, prior to the September 6 deadline for formal petitions, had publicly indicated that they intended to run for the West Windsor Council.
Slinn explained the basis of the decision: “Mr. Harris’ petitions did not qualify him to appear on the official election ballot. I therefore let him know that our criteria for participation in the debates we were planning did not allow for him to be included. The criteria for participation has consistently been that the names of qualified candidates who will appear on the relevant ballot,” he said.
Slinn E-mailed Harris “as a courtesy,” he said, to let him know that he would not be able to join the debate. Harris reacted by sending E-mails to each of the six candidates, asking them all to appeal for his participation. He then reached out to the media to allege that Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh was involved in his exclusion from the debate. He also appeared at West Windsor Council on October 3 to request that council members investigate the “possible abuse of power” by Mayor Hsueh. In a letter making his request Harris said he had been “told by a number of people” that “the Mayor would not let the debate be held in the Municipal Building if I was invited to participate.”
In E-mails sent to the press Harris said “I was just told that the Mayor ‘ruled’ that I could not be included. This is an election, not town business. What does this have to do with the Mayor?”
Hsueh said it was important “to downplay this kind of nonsense” and added that the use of township facilities and the prospect of having video and media coverage of the October debates is the only way he was involved. “I had no input for the planning of the debate. Basically they (Slinn and O’Mara) made the decision. I don’t know what to say except that there has been erroneous information circulated.”
Gene O’Brien, the campaign manager for the team of Zahn, Kohn, and Maher, wrote an E-mail to Harris stating that “the October 24 debate and your exclusion by the mayor has been the subject of many, many, E-mail messages.” O’Brien did not return WW-P News’ phone calls seeking clarification during the week.
