The Democratic Party will face a millennial challenger for the 15th Legislative District assembly seat this fall. The Mercer and Hunterdon County GOP nominated West Windsor council member Pete Mendonez Jr. to run as the Republican candidate for the assembly.
“I definitely understand it’s an uphill battle, but anything worth doing like politics is worth your best try,” Mendonez says. “At this point it’s going door to door and getting the message out.”
The last time a Republican held a 15th district assembly seat was in 1993. The district comprises Hopewell Borough, and Township, Pennington, Lawrence, Trenton, and West Windsor, as well as the Hunterdon County townships of Lambertville and East Amwell.
Mendonez and Trenton resident Anthony Giordano are the Republican candidates for the two District 15 assembly seats, while Democratic Dan Toto is challenging incumbents Reed Gusciora and Liz Maher Muoio.
Mendonez says his main message is to keep taxes flat, champion renewable energy, and represent the millennial generation.
A Filipino-American born in 1984, Mendonez is an engineer by training. He is a cofounder of a Princeton-based energy startup, A.F. Mensah, that focuses on solar energy battery storage.
Pete and his wife, Jennifer, married last year. They moved to West Windsor from Somerset in 2012.
“I can’t recall the last time West Windsor had someone in the assembly,” Mendonez says. He emphasized he was planning to be a long-term resident. “I still have a 30-year mortgage,” he says of his Princeton-Hightstown Road home. “We’re a diverse town and our voice deserves to be heard.”
Mendonez’s campaign focuses on job creation and clean energy. His slogan is “We Still Have a Dream” and his press release states he grew up in a family of six in Piscataway on a low middle class income. His parents immigrated to America in the 1960s.
“There were no handouts, no breaks, and no room for excuses, just the opportunity called America,” writes Mendonez.
Meanwhile on the active township political scene, former school board president Hemant Marathe confirmed he is seriously considering a run for one of three Council seats up for election this fall.
The terms for Council president Bryan Maher and Council members George Borek and Kristina Samonte expire at the end of 2015. Samonte has confirmed she will not seek reelection.
West Windsor’s municipal elections are nonpartisan in name only. The current Council has a 3-2 Republican majority, led by Maher, and including Council vice president Linda Geevers and Peter Mendonez. With both Council seats held by the Democrat-affiliated Borek and Samonte up for election, the election this fall represents a chance for the Republicans to further consolidate their Council majority, as well as an opportunity for Democrats to win back a majority. Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, who rarely attends Council meetings, is a Democrat.
