While we do not agree with Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh on each and every issue, we think that he has done a very good job in his two terms as mayor of West Windsor.
If you happen to listen on our local cable channel to the comments from a small group of “regulars” who attend township meetings, you would get a very different impression of the job he has done and the community’s level of satisfaction with his performance.
As our mothers would remind us, it’s not what you say, but how you say it that makes the difference. While we defend citizens’ right to air their views, in our opinion much of what has been said has been too personal, too political, and in some cases downright hypocritical and mean.
Some of the people who are ranting about the failure to preserve the Grover home are the same folks who were ranting and raving about the failure to cut the budget further. You can’t have it both ways.
During Mayor Hsueh’s tenure, the quality of life in West Windsor has improved. Among his many initiatives that come to mind are championing the construction of bicycle and pedestrian paths and bridges; reconstructing the Grover Mill dam; expanding the services offered at the senior center; pursuing expansion of recreational offering such as the development of Duck Pond; improving the flow of traffic at key intersections; restoring the Schenck Homestead; and helping to establish a community arts center. He also spearheaded the redevelopment plan for the area around the train station and having the site officially designed by the state as a transit village, which will guarantee full support for all aspects of the future development of the site.
And he did all this all while stabilizing the tax rate and reducing costs associated with past deficit financing. It is a record that, while by no means perfect, he can be proud of.
We have lived in West Windsor for 35 years. One of the primary reasons West Windsor is a great place to live and raise a family is because it has always been a caring and welcoming community, supported and enhanced by a dedicated cadre of volunteers who give their time to our schools, sports programs, youth programs, local nonprofits, and civic groups, or serve on township committees and boards.
You can disagree with each other without being disagreeable. You can make your argument without making accusations. You can criticize without being confrontational. The level of rancor of those who disagree with the Mayor needs to be reduced.
It time for the good people of West Windsor to let it be known that they do not like the manner in which those who disagree with the mayor are conducting themselves. To say publicly that “the mayor may not understand American culture” is an insulting and distasteful remark.
We want and need in West Windsor is a culture of civility in which we all treat each other with dignity and respect regardless of our political affiliation or our point of view.
Irwin & Phyllis Stoolmacher
520 Village Road West, West Windsor
