Four candidates from three parties are vying for the two open seats. Both carry three-year terms.

   Incumbent Democrats Ginger Gold and Neil Lewis are squaring off against Republican Richard Nicoletti and Green Party candidate Patrick Goldsmith.

   Three of the candidates met with The Packet's editorial board Tuesday. Mr. Nicoletti, a teacher at Perth Amboy High School, was unable to attend due to a health problem.

   "Richard was forced to take a brief pause from his campaign for health reasons," said his brother, David, who is Mr. Nicoletti's campaign manager. "It won't be long before he's back in action. We have almost a full month until the election, and we anticipate that he'll have plenty of time left to communicate his vision for Plainsboro."

   On Tuesday, the three candidates able to attend the editorial board session sounded off on a wide range of topics.

   Mr. Lewis and Ms. Gold, who have been campaigning door to door throughout the township, stressed that one of the biggest issues the Township Committee will have to grapple with in the near future is how to continue to keep property taxes down as the community approaches full build-out.

   "It will take careful budgeting and planning," said Ms. Gold, who has served on the Township Committee since 2000.

   She said officials must continue tracking township trends and will have to continue to think creatively when it comes to financing new projects.

   She pointed to the Plainsboro Preserve, its Nature and Education Center and the restoration of the dam near Maple Avenue as examples of successful projects funded creatively without taxpayer dollars.

   Mr. Lewis, who has served on the Township Committee since 1995 and has been deputy mayor since 1998, agreed and pointed out that the municipality's high-quality staff is an important component as well.

   "The staff is committed to providing the best possible services at the lowest possible cost," he said. "They are conscious of the economic situation."

   Mr. Goldsmith commended the incumbents for having a strong vision for the township, particularly with the implementation of the new Village Center, but felt the township might be growing too quickly.

   "We're moving ahead perhaps at the expense of a large number of our residents — the apartment dwellers," he said.

   Mr. Goldsmith, an art dealer and professional musician, said he decided to run for Township Committee in order to address tenants' rights issues. He believes the township needs to be more open to sharing information with the public and should take a closer look at the practices of its apartment management companies as well as the municipal housing department.

   "There are a lot of violations being missed," he said.

   Mr. Lewis and Ms. Gold both said if that is the case, the committee should look into the problem. Mr. Lewis also pointed out the township already has strict ordinances on apartment maintenance and upkeep on the books as well as a voluntary rent-control plan, which limits rent increases over the next five years to no more than 5 percent per year to help protect apartment dwellers.

   In addition, the candidates all responded strongly to recent reports of conflict in the township Police Department between the rank-and-file union officers and Chief David Lyon, specifically allegations officers are being asked to write more summonses in order to be promoted or to allow more officers to be hired.

   "No one on the Township Committee has ever encouraged the writing of tickets to generate revenue, or quotas, or anything like that," said Mr. Lewis, who serves as the committee's public-safety liaison. "We've also spoken intensely with the chief in that regard and been assured he understands that position."

   Mr. Goldsmith added that to help alleviate the officers' discontent, the committee might want to look into how much money it has budgeting for the police department. With more resources, the department could get the increased manpower or other items it needs, he said.

   When not serving on the Township Committee, Mr. Lewis works as a vice president of a pharmaceutical research and development service company in Plainsboro.

   Ms. Gold, who serves as committee liaison to human services, graduated from Villanova Law School and holds a master's degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania. She is associate director of government relations for the New Jersey Education Association.

   Mr. Nicoletti has been president of the Perth Amboy Education Association since 2001. He received a degree in history from Rider University and has a master's degree in social studies education from Rutgers University.

   Mr. Goldsmith has lived in Plainsboro for the past five years. He grew up in New York City and went to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He has owned art galleries in New York City for nine years and has lectured at Princeton University on Indonesian arts and culture.