We are writing to express our unwavering support for the re-election of Mayor Shing Fu-Hsueh and his running mates.
The mayor has earned our support by providing high-quality municipal services in a highly cost-effective manner. He has been able to balance immediate needs with a long-range planning perspective.
Hsueh is extremely intelligent, hard working, and fiscally prudent. In addition his strong sense of personal integrity and broad knowledge of the issues have earned him the respect of government of leaders at all levels. West Windsor benefits immensely from his broad knowledge of government and the high regard in which he universally held.
West Windsor faces a number of complex issues over the next four years. As residents of our community for 36 years, we have observed many local elected officials; some of whom have served West Windsor well and others too consumed with their own agenda.
Hsueh rises to the top, and we strongly believe that he is the best person to lead our community over the next four years.
There is absolutely no reason to replace the mayor in West Windsor. We have a highly effective mayor who has done an excellent job.
Phyllis & Irwin Stoolmacher
Village Road West
In the late summer of 2012 the jughandle closure at Route 1 and Washington Road created traffic confusion, a surprising increase in accidents, and clear dangers for pedestrians, particularly school-age children. Mayor Hsueh, Eric Payne, and Kamal Khanna facilitated a resolution to those problems and continue to support long-term solutions that will ease traffic flow in West Windsor.
Mayor Hsueh developed close ties with James Simpson, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, to improve both the immediate and long-term traffic congestion. The mayor worked to reach consensus on needed traffic improvements with the Regional Mayors Coalition, a group he created three years earlier. He incorporated the residents’ concerns into daily meetings with the West Windsor Police.
Eric Payne became a leader and online voice of Smart Traffic Solutions, the grassroots group formed to deal with both immediate and long-term traffic conditions on Route 1. He created an online petition to support the key traffic changes needed along Route 1, and he developed a traffic plan for West Windsor that embodied the best of the proposals over the past two decades. He introduced his plans to surrounding communities and continues to work on a permanent traffic solution.
Kamal Khanna, as head of the West Windsor Council, led the meeting with the DOT and West Windsor residents to make DOT aware of the many unanticipated dangers of the closed jughandles. Payne, Hsueh, and Khanna communicated every day so that all parties stayed informed, rumors did not prevail, and efforts were carefully coordinated.
The in-depth experience of these three candidates is proven and invaluable.
Tamerra Moeller
Susan Parris
My family has resided in West Windsor for 20 years. For the past 10 years or so we have seen tremendous progressive changes in our township. These improvements have had a positive effect on the quality of life for residents.
Among the mayor’s most notable accomplishments is striking a deal with Plainsboro that lowered the school district tax burden in West Windsor. He has also overseen the expansion of the senior center, the creation of an arts center, vast improvements to the township road infrastructure, an expanded parks system with excellent sports facilities, and a new train station parking facility for township residents, all while maintaining a AAA bond rating.
With all the talk about township taxes I think it is important to point out that the average township tax costs are little more than $100 per month per household. For that sum we have a professional and well-trained police department. We have state-of-the-art fire fighting equipment and emergency response programs, including paid firefighters to supplement our wonderful volunteer system. Our trash and yard waste collection are included in our taxes as well as many other services.
I urge my neighbors to re-elect Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh along with Councilman Kamal Khanna, who is a thoughtful and compassionate advocate for all residents, along with newcomer Eric Payne, who worked with the mayor and council to stop the jughandle elimination plan on Route 1.
Anthony DeCarlo
Clarksville Road
Every four years we are asked to count up our grievances and choose between the new guy and the incumbent mayor. What in the community, or about township governance, has become a super annoyance lately; and how big has its negative impact been? But do keep the following aspects of governance in mind in making your choice. Our township is pretty much built out. The mayor’s primary responsibility is to maintain the quality of life in our community by counteracting the pressures that continue to accrue from the myriad new developments in neighboring communities.
The mayor is with the community in wanting to hold the line on property taxes; but it’s not his job, despite what some in our community would have us believe. The responsibility belongs to the school board and township council, where 80+ percent of tax revenues go to our schools, and 17 percent toward township operations and services. The main exigencies we face today are traffic congestion and major storms and their aftermath. The mayor’s solutions to these big-ticket items involve funding from county, state, and federal agencies, not township revenues.
Take for example the $25+ million replacement of the Alexander Road bridge and the addition of the roundabout. Today rush hour traffic is still heavy but moves along at a faster and more predictable pace, and morning and evening rush hour congestion begins later and ends sooner. Similar positive outcomes have been achieved with new construction elsewhere in the township.
The most recent demonstration of the mayor’s know-how is his negotiations with state officials for the speedy end to NJDOT’s Route 1 experiment. Because the mayor was known to NJDOT and our Republican governor as a negotiator with a broad regional perspective, Transportation Commissioner James Simpson showed an unprecedented willingness to work with a local township executive, our mayor.
A joint effort is now underway to develop a regional solution to Route 1 congestion that avoids offloading Route 1 congestion onto West Windsor roadways and neighborhoods. These unusually good outcomes reflect the mayor’s 24/7 commitment to maintaining and improving our quality of life, including his ability to attract tens of millions of county, state, and federal dollars.
In my mind we are fortunate to have the current mayor, as no part-time mayor running a business full-time can realistically promise this level of service.
James R. Moeller
Varsity Avenue
As the election nears, I’ve heard some residents voice the time-worn cliche, “It’s time for a change.” However, when asked, “What change do you have in mind?” invariably I get no credible response. The reality is we have had meaningful change spearheaded by Mayor Hsueh’s leadership.
The following are some major examples of change for the good:
1. Holding down taxes by attaining the lowest municipal rate in our region.
2. Maintaining AAA bond rating, saving taxpayers $1.5 million.
3. More commercial ratables coming to West Windsor, totaling $19 million.
4. Positive changes can be seen in the town’s redevelopment region.
5. Major expansion of the West Windsor Senior Center, winning national recognition.
I’m sure we are all familiar with the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This expression is definitely applicable in the case of our current administration led by our very capable Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.
Paul Pitluk
Village Grande
Time for a change? Why? With all the accomplishments and achievements produced by West Windsor Township’s current mayoral administration, I think not! Let’s just take a pivotal benefit from the last 12 years of the Shing-Fu Hsueh administration, namely infrastructure improvements, as highlighted below.
(1) Meadow Road bypass; (2) Meadow Road/Clarksville Road intersection; (3) Alexander Road bridge replacement and turnabout; (4) Princeton Hightstown Road and Clarksville Road lane improvements, including sorely needed crosswalks; (5) West Windsor Community Park expansion including sports fields, facilities, bicycle paths, and increased irrigation of fields; (6) Conover Park fields — irrigation improvements; (7) bicycle and walking path easement through PSE&G right of way; (8) current improvement of the Old Trenton Road bridge in Edinburg; (9) improvement of “S” curve on Alexander Road near the D&R Canal; (10) initial stages of improved pedestrian access along Cranbury Road with Mercer County (which has been neglected for decades); (11) Princeton Junction train station — additional municipality-only parking soon to become a reality.
What does all this mean? Infrastructure improvement requires the access to critical sources of federal, state, and county funding to reduce the level of municipal tax increase in this full-service community of ours. Hsueh has done an admirable job so far and deserves another four years to continue his good work. His opponent may have done a good job managing the school district, but that job reflects a much more controlled environment, very different from managing a municipal government.
The role of leading the Board of Education where by and large you are managing well established union contracts, personnel, and curricula, as well as a set number of specific infrastructure issues, does not have nearly as many variables, moving parts, or pitfalls as the role of mayor. Hsueh has done an admirable job, especially with the state of council dysfunction throughout his three terms.
Hsueh has an impressive ability to source funding for the township’s benefit. I don’t think his opponent’s contacts are anywhere near those of Hsueh.
Now is not the time for a change, unless we want to talk about the council race where Kamal Khanna could use the help of another like-minded and responsible individual to help move West Windsor forward in the next four years without the continuing bickering from council meetings that we frequently read about in this and other newspapers.
Maybe the time for a change is to elect Eric Payne to the Township Council.
Richard Eland
Courtney Drive
I have lived in West Windsor now for almost 16 years with my wife and my young daughter. It truly is a unique and special place to live unlike any that I have seen.
I believe the principal reason for this is the superb people that serve this town day in and day out. Township employees like Pat Ward, Sam Surtees, Gay Huber, and Joanne Louth as well as volunteers like Marvin Gardner, Chuck Chang, Michael Karp, Michael Huey, Andy Lupo, and others all give so much of themselves so that our town operates in a first-class manner. But to attract this quality of employee or excite residents to volunteer their precious, personal time really comes down to leadership.
Ultimately that leadership comes from Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. Hsueh has demonstrated his leadership and commitment to West Windsor for decades in various roles, all of which helped him develop into the capable mayor that he is in a town with highly educated residents who are vigorously engaged and have strong opinions. Hsueh has always encouraged participation and incorporated other views.
While I am thrilled to see two bright and accomplished individuals campaign for our votes, I am proud to cast my ballot for Mayor Hsueh once again. He represents this town with much dignity, intelligence, and professionalism, works about as hard as a mayor can be asked, and is truly a good and decent person at the end of the day. How many towns in New Jersey can boast that with a straight face?
Robert Loverro
As a long term resident, I have witnessed the great improvements to our town since our current mayor has been in office. And we have had stable fiscal management throughout his leadership. Our taxes have been stable.
One opposition mayoral candidate is sending out misleading information relating to taxes. Did you know that the school budget has increased more than $60 million since 2001? Did you know that our municipal budget has increased less than $13 million during that same time period? Did you know that our current mayor, through his smart partnerships with other levels of governments and professional relationships, has obtained more than $108 million from outside sources for township improvements? Additional financial benefits have been realized by our AAA bond rating.
I recently received a mailing from Hemant Marathe’s team. After reading one side of it, I was very dismayed that his team is trying to mislead the public. Our township provides full service and still has the lowest municipal tax rate in the region based on this full service. The other side of his campaign mailing was great — it was a strong endorsement for the current mayor and his team. It outlines what the current mayor has accomplished.
Fu Grand Lin
West Windsor may be more desirable than other communities because Mayor Hsueh has had the vision and perseverance to change the face, infrastructure, financial stability, environment, and quality of life for our community more than any mayor before him. Mayor Hsueh’s re-election will allow more changes to become reality since they have already been approved by the Township Council and are in preparatory stages. The $108 million Mayor Hsueh had obtained from outside sources to fund West Windsor projects over the years are an example of the funding he is able to secure for our community due to his long, well-respected relationship with local, state and federal entities — a relationship his opponents do not have.
Since his opponents haven’t any record of meaningful accomplishments for West Windsor, it is difficult to compare their proposals with Mayor Hsueh’s successes. His passion for wanting West Windsor to thrive even more is shown by his statement, “I rededicate myself to the future well-being of this Township.” This promise to our community is matched with his 24/7 commitment to being mayor, which cannot be matched by his opponents — both of whom have full-time business responsibilities to oversee.
Ina Brosseau Marx & Allen Marx
As the son-in-law of Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, I wanted to give you a personal perspective on Mayor Hsueh (just “Dad” to me). Every day, I see the passion he has for serving West Windsor and preserving this great town with his children and grandchildren in mind.
I have known the Hsueh family ever since Dad was my Little League Baseball Coach at eight years old. I was classmates with his son, and we were on the same team. Dad still recalls to this day my first hit (which came late in the season) and was apparently very proud since he never gave up on me. That is the type of person he is, diligent and persistent. Forty-four years ago my father-in-law left Taiwan, the only home he had ever known, for a dream of a bright future. Now that I have a family, I can appreciate how difficult it may have been for him to leave behind his family with only $300 in his pocket. However, that is the quintessential American dream.
An important part of that dream was to give back to the community. This spirit of giving back is something he continues to talk to us about. This is the main reason my wife returned to West Windsor to become a school teacher, to give back to a district that has offered her so much. My wife and I researched many surrounding towns before choosing West Windsor. My wife not only has great memories growing up here, but after returning from college, she noticed so many more improvements were made to this town: the roads, the park, recreational facilities, and shopping.
She fondly recalls going to teach Tai Chi with her dad, something he still does every weekend. She also loved painting together; something she knows inspired him to excitedly push through the idea of the West Windsor Arts Center with much help from residents. I have always enjoyed biking and at the time Dad was working closely with volunteers to create a network of bicycle and pedestrian paths. His belief in the importance of health and recreation can be seen in Community Park, which features a batting cage and lacrosse/football field funded by public/private partnerships.
These are a few examples of what we were looking for in a home for my family. He has never wavered in his commitment to serving West Windsor. There are many projects he is still working on. To make that happen, please re-elect my father-in-law, Shing-Fu Hsueh, for mayor and Kamal Khanna and Eric Payne for Council.
Michael Mancino
My father Shing-Fu Hsueh was my best man when I married my college sweetheart in 2001. To our family (which now includes four grandchildren), he has been a constant source of love, support, and devotion.
Over time, we watched our father channel the time he spent with us into time spent improving the quality of life in West Windsor. Many empty nesters like my parents leave towns like West Windsor because of the onerous school taxes. My parents love West Windsor and have been committed to it.
My father has been my best man since I was a child. I’m confident that he continues to be the best man to be mayor of West Windsor.
Stephen K. Shueh
