Longtime resident Debbie Hepler has announced that she will run for a seat on the Town Council, on the ticket with Rick Visovsky and Martin Whitfield. “I am thrilled to be a part of this ticket. The best thing about the ticket is that they aren’t concerned about party politics. They want to stop raising taxes, stop unbridled development, and help our community.”
“I myself am totally an independent. We are a true non-partisan ticket. This town is supposed to have a non-partisan government.”
Hepler’s presence at Council meetings has increased as a result of her participation on the Grover Farmstead Committee. Council member Bryan Maher, she says, “has been a positive inspiration for me, and the other four members have been a negative inspiration. I need to be heard, and the best way to do this is to run for office.”
Hepler and her husband, David, have lived in West Windsor for 20 years. “He worked at Pfizer in New York City, and we decided to relocate to West Windsor because it had a small-town feel, more agrarian, like the town near Charlotte, North Carolina, where I was born, or South Carolina, where I grew up. We loved it here.”
“In the past 12 years, I have watched the town grow from a nice little town to a monstrosity. Development is out of control. We are going to have two 7-Elevens within one mile of each other on Route 571. We have so many drug stores. We look like Hamilton. If I had known West Windsor was going to look like this, I would never have moved here,” says Hepler.
“I am for a certain amount of growth and progress, but not when it is not serving the community. Our quality of life is going down, our school rankings are going down, we are providing fewer services, and our taxes are going up. And with the Howard Hughes development, it is just going to get worse.”
“I blame the mayor for all of these problems. That’s why I decided to run for council. I want to be a watchdog over the administration. I go to every council meeting, and my comments fall on deaf ears,” she says.
“I don’t agree with our system of government; the mayor has too much control. The council should still be more independent, and the council members should not constantly vote with the mayor. We need checks and balances.”
“I have never aspired to be on the council. But I look at what’s been happening: the loss of our animal control officer; the lack of police presence at dangerous intersections, the solar panel issue, and I knew I had to get involved. I will be involved for a limited number of years, and then will turn it over. There should be turnover with politicians,” says Hepler.
Though Hepler, who has 13-year-old twins, has never been involved in local politics, she has been active in the community.
Hepler, whose mother was a teacher of special needs children and whose father was a farmer and small business owner, majored in Spanish and French at Longwood College in Virginia. She earned a master’s in French from UC Santa Barbara. She worked as a language teacher in Virginia, North Carolina, and Delaware.
After the birth of her children, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom, though she still substitute teaches. Hepler is considering returning to full-time employment now that her children are older.
Hepler is currently treasurer for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and she volunteers at her children’s school. “I do a lot of volunteer work for S.A.V.E. as well as at the Trenton Soup Kitchen and other organizations.”
Before becoming involved with Grover Farm, she says, “I never used to be aware of what was going on with local government. But now I see what is happening in town. I think my views are in line with most of the residents, but not everyone has the time to get involved. I want to represent those people who are unable to get involved themselves,” says Hepler.
