The Pennington Borough Council welcomed a new president and new member, and bid farewell to an esteemed member during its January 6 reorganization meeting.
Nadine Stern elected as the new Council president
Before being confirmed as president, Stern renewed her completed Council term with a new three-year term through 2027. She will continue her role as Chair of the Public Works Committee, will serve on the Finance and Personnel Committees, and on the Planning Board and Historic Preservation Commission.
Former president Kit Chandler, who nominated Stern, will continue to serve as a Council member reporting on Finance, Public Safety, the Arboretum, the Landfill, and Open Space.
“I am proud to have been chosen to serve as Pennington Council president this year, and I will follow Kit Chandler’s excellent model for this role,” said Stern.
Commenting on the next 12 months, Stern wrote about the Council’s commitments:
“This year the Council looks forward to completing the 2025 Master Plan, expanding our property redevelopment projects, continuing to preserve Open Space, working on our carbon neutral plans, supporting our local businesses, and providing family-friendly events through our Parks and Recreation committee.
“Our attention is also very focused on stormwater management and ensuring water quality. We will continue to support our excellent Public Works and Police departments. And without question, we want to do all this while controlling costs [and] municipal taxes.
“This year is also a good opportunity for new people to get involved, and we encourage them to do so by joining our citizen committees. In summary, our 2025 work will encompass many aspects of our lives here, and I know all my Council colleagues are committed to these efforts.”
Daniel Rubenstein sworn in as a new Council member
Rubenstein, who is a current member of the Environmental Commission, works at Princeton University as the Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology, Emeritus and Senior Scholar. He is the former Chair of Princeton University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and has served as Director of Princeton’s Programs in African Studies and in Environmental Studies.
(For the curious reader: In an email to MercerMe, Rubenstein commented on the date of the class. It’s a complex story, but in short, it’s based on a gift given by the alumni of the class of 1877. “Human time horizons are often biased towards the here and now and maybe the immediate past,” he said. “But in this case, the distant past connection really is to 1877!.”)
A behavioral ecologist, Rubenstein has special interests in all species of wild horses, zebras, and asses. He has done fieldwork throughout the world identifying rules governing decision-making, the emergence of complex behavioral patterns, and how these understandings influence their management and conservation.
At press time, he is teaching a graduate level class on AI and Ecology in Hawaii. Rubenstein’s accomplishments are too numerous to mention here. Learn more at his Princeton University web page.
Council member Debora Gnatt recognized
After 10 years of service as a Pennington Council member and after completing her current term, Deborah Gnatt stepped down from her position, receiving accolades from Davy and Council members.
Davy read a proclamation recognizing and commending. Gnatt “for her decade of exemplary public service to the Borough of Pennington, her instrumental role in strengthening our municipal governance, and her unwavering commitment to the betterment of our community through her service on numerous boards and committees from 2014 to 2024.”
Gnatt served on the Personnel Committee from 2018 to 2024, starting as a member and becoming the committee chair in 2019. She also served on several commissions and committees including Historic Preservation, Economic Development, Environmental, Parks and Recreation, Shade Tree, and the Library board.
Outside of her service to Pennington Borough, Gnatt served the State of New Jersey as Senior Deputy Attorney General, where she specialized in labor and employment law.
In other business, Mayor Davy and Council renewed and made several new appointments to boards, commissions, and committees, and approved contracts with professional organizations – all regular business conducted by municipal boards each year during reorganization meetings.