Thank you for the honor of serving as the Democratic nominee for Princeton Council. I want to contratulate Tim Quinn who will be joining me on the Democratic ticket. I also congratulate Leticia Fraga and Anne Neumann for running spirited campaigns.
Jenny and Tim Quinn, Democratic nominees for Princeton Council (courtesy of the Princeton Packet)
To post on Reddit.com, if you’re not already a Reddit user, you’ll need to create a username and password, (sign-up link on upper right of page) which takes about 30 seconds. You don’t need to supply an email address. Reddit usernames usually do not contain identifying information, although users sometimes create a special user name for IAMA purposes.
I have another username that I usually use for Reddit, but I created CouncillorCrumiller for the purpose of the Ask Me Anything post.
I hope you participate and ask me a question!
This photo, featured in our ad on Planet Princeton, is of Moore Street, where the Crumiller family lived for more than 10 years and where my mother, Darlyne Crum now lives. I took this photo years ago, and played with filters in Photoshop to create the effects. 
The Princeton Council is considering an earned sick days ordinance, which would require employers to allow part time and full time workers up to five paid days of sick time a year. I support the policy both out of concern for public health, as it reduces spread of communicable diseases as well as basic human decency. Employees should have the same protections of their health and welfare regardless of their level of pay.
First presented to us by the advocacy group Working Families Alliance, the ordinance requires employers to provide a modest number of hours of paid time off for illness or to care for a sick family member after a worker has been employed for a number of months. If approved, Princeton would be joining 11 other New Jersey municipalities which have already adopted similar ordinances.
As a council member, I’ve heard from hundreds of residents, urging Princeton to enact an earned sick leave policy. They have emailed, called, come to council meetings, and more than a hundred residents wrote letters in support of the policy.
In speaking with a group of Princeton’s employers, I understand that some support an earned sick leave ordinance and many already provide this benefit. A council committee will be meeting with employers and members of the community in the coming weeks about the ordinance and its details. While the Working Families ordinance is our model, it is now in the hands of the council and the community to draft the actual ordinance we will adopt.
Princeton University representatives have indicated that the proposed ordinance would incur a high cost, and in our annual town-gown council discussion, President Eisgruber declined to discuss earned sick leave policy. I am looking forward to hearing from others in the University community to understand their views on the subject.
I believe all workers deserve paid sick leave, not just academic and white collar workers. It is not good for anyone when employees who are ill come to work or send their sick children to school out of desperation. Princeton’s workers should be treated fairly regarding sick time regardless of income level. An earned sick leave policy protects the public health, and it is humane, and I believe it represents the values of our community.
Dear Princeton Democrats,
You are cordially invited to a seltzer, wine and cheese reception to meet with Jenny Crumiller, Council member and candidate for re-election.
What: Meet and Greet Event for Jenny
Where: Home of David and Liz Cohen, 135 Terhune Road
When: Saturday, March 5, from 4 to 6 pm
Hosted by David and Liz Cohen, Fern and Larry Spruill, Anne Reeves, Joanna Dougherty, William Hare, Dan Preston and Maggie Rose, Peter Lindenfeld and Mary Clurman, Virginia Kerr, Walter and Mary Bliss, Beth and Jim Healey, and Scotia MacRae and Dick Blofson.
All are welcome. We hope you can join us! For more information or to RSVP, please email Scotia MacRae at swmacrae@yahoo.com.
[updated] The council has introduced the ordinance to create the Witherspoon historic district. The Wise report recommending the ordinance can be downloaded as pdf here. The Commission has also set up a website for Princeton’s Historic Resources
I voted to introduce the ordinance, and I plan to support it at the final hearing on April 11. Historic preservation has benefited the community in several other neighborhoods and historic sites, and I believe it’s time to do the same for the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, with its old-fashioned streetscape of porches and stoops that create a friendly, charming neighborhood. I look forward to hearing from residents.
Hello Princetonians!
The June primary is almost upon us. I am enjoying the election process — listening to voters, hearing concerns and criticisms, and learning what issues are most important to residents. Contested elections are good for local democracy. I hope you participate! Click here if you’d like to contact me by email or phone.
As old-time Democrats in Princeton may know, I have been integrally involved in the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) for a number of years. In 2006, became president after serving as membership chair, corresponding secretary and running a presidential campaign headquarters. I was president for three years, when the club became known as the largest and most active Democratic club in the state. After that, I ran for Princeton Council.
One of my major efforts as PCDO president, besides expanding and activating the membership, was to encourage competitive primaries in our virtually one-party town. You can see the resolution I wrote here. Competetive primaries were relatively rare before that; when I ran for the (former) Borough council, I was the first candidate in decades to run without having been appointed by the council to fill a vacancy first. The usual practice had been that a council member would resign before the term was up in order to allow the council to choose the next member.
The PCDO is now a vibrant membership organization, and a competitive PCDO local endorsement process is seen as a regular occurrence. It’s going to happen again this year and I couldn’t be happier, even if it means– unlike last time I ran– I will have competition and a little more work to do.
Primary voters who haven’t spent a lot of time studying up on the candidates end up taking the PCDO endorsement seriously, and so if you want to make an impact on the election, you can join the PCDO, attend the endorsement meeting on March 20 where candidates answer questions, and vote. There is a minimum organizational dues payment of $5 and the suggested dues are $15. Dues help defray costs of renting space and running the organization.
