Need 'Resilience, Agility' To Address Challenges: Princeton Mayor

Princeton NJ

05 January, 2021

2:05 PM

Description

PRINCETON, NJ — On Monday evening, Mark Freda was sworn in as the next mayor of Princeton. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman administered the oath of office to Freda over Zoom. He was sworn in along with councilmembers Leticia Fraga and David Cohen, who will serve their second three-year terms. During the virtual meeting, Fraga was named council president for 2021. Freda thanked the Princeton community for giving him the opportunity to serve as mayor for four years. He also thanked former mayor Liz Lampert and council members who helped him prepare to take on the responsibilities. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, local communities and businesses have been greatly impacted. Freda asked the community to come together and face new challenges. "There are many issues for us ahead including COVID and all of its impacts on our community," he said. "These impacts will most likely persist for years. During those years new challenges and new issues arise and they will require resilience, agility and effort from all of us to address them," he said. Freda said the community and township officials need to communicate often and share information, to help in decision-making. "We will continue to improve our listening skills. We will stand firm that all of us treat each other with respect and decency, that being fair to all is a never-ending effort," he said. Freda said the struggles of the past year has amplified the need to support the community and create partnerships "as we look to improve services and how they are delivered." The new mayor pointed out that the town needs to create opportunities for people from different sections of society. "We need to continue to address the realities of a world that is not fair and just to all. We need to foster the growth of businesses in our community, to create job opportunities, to help grow our tax base, to continue to grow Princeton's attractiveness as a destination in New Jersey." The only way to accomplish future goals, said Freda, was to work together. He also took a look back at 2020, thanking town staff, non-profit organizations, officials, Princeton University, Princeton Public schools, first responders and everyone who worked together to address challenges arising due to coronavirus. "Think of all the local workers, town staff, and first responders who worked throughout 2020 to support the rest of us," he said. He then urged to community to continue social distancing for as long as its needed. "We have the ability to move forward on so many fronts. I am eager to work with all of you to move forward together." Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected] Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.