Flemington mayor challenged by political veteran in 2022 election

It's a battle between the new and old in the race for a four-year term as mayor of Flemington.

Incumbent Betsy Driver, a Democrat, is being challenged by former Republican state Sen. Marcia Karrow.

Driver is completing her first term as mayor after she narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Phil Greiner in 2018 when the overriding issue was the Courthouse Square project. Driver was a member of the Borough Council before becoming mayor.

Born in Buffalo, Driver has lived in Flemington since 2005. She worked as a journalist for nearly 30 years, including time as a television news producer. Driver is the first openly intersex person elected to public office in the United States.

Karrow has a long history in elected office. She was a member of the Raritan Township Committee from 1994 to 2002, then served as Hunterdon County freeholder from 1999 to 2006. She was elected to the state Assembly in 2005 and won a special election in January 2009 over fellow Assemblyman Michael Doherty to replace state Sen. Leonard Lance, who had been elected to the House of Representatives. But Doherty turned the tables a few months later by defeating her in the GOP primary for the state Senate seat. Doherty is retiring from his seat to run for Warren County surrogate.

Karrow's father Sol owned a men's shop on Main Street and served on the Borough Council from 1963 to 1980. She retired earlier this year as borough administrator in Middlesex Borough.

The campaign between Driver and Karrow can be summed up in interviews they gave to Flemington Life. When asked to use three adjectives to describe the present condition of Flemington, Driver replied "Funky. Charming. Neighborly." Karrow replied, "Run-down; tired; frustrated."

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That's the rhetorical divide that has dominated Flemington politics between those, like Driver, focused on revitalizing the town and welcoming development and those, like Karrow, focused on preserving the town's character.

Driver has touted her negotiations with developer Jack Cust to reduce the scale of the Courthouse Square project, which advocates say will spur the long-awaited revitalization of Main Street. Also during Driver's first term, plans have been proposed for the redevelopment of Liberty Village, the vacant Agway store property and the Agway mill property.

But Karrow says borough officials have not taken into account the impact of these developments on traffic and public safety.

The two also disagree on plans to move police into a new headquarters on South Main Street by the Route 12 circle.

A new headquarters became necessary because the current headquarters on North Main Street is part of the Courthouse Square project.

The borough had reached an agreement with Cust, the developer, to allow police to stay in the building until a new headquarters was found.

Driver said the purchase of the South Main Street property will be funded by federal American Recovery Act money, the sale of 90 Main St. and possibly surplus and water department funds while Karrow says the selection and purchase of the site lacked transparency.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ elections 2022: Flemington mayor race preview