West Windsor Together Condemns Mayor Marathe’s Conduct Leading to Cancellation of Student-Led Candidate Forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Windsor, NJ - September 18, 2025 - West Windsor Together expresses deep disappointment that the West Windsor Candidate Forum was cancelled after Mayor Hemant Marathe refused to participate under the terms presented. The forum was organized by a nonpartisan high school student group with support from the League of Women Voters and moderated in part by Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics.

West Windsor Together (WW Together) agreed in full to the forum’s terms and conditions as presented by WW Forward and has affirmed our commitment to participate.  The agreed terms support WW Forward’s objective as stated in their press release dated April 26, 2025: “Candidate forums are public events where people running for office share their views, answer questions, and explain what they would do if elected.  These forums are similar to debates, but they are usually more focused on informing voters rather than challenging opponents.” 

We welcome every good-faith opportunity for residents to learn about our candidates, our candidate's platform, and to compare them directly with our opponents.

A Breakdown Driven by the Mayor’s Conduct

What should have been a model of civic learning and respectful dialogue was derailed by the mayor’s aberrant behavior:

• Public negotiation and escalation: Rather than working through organizers, the mayor chose to influence negotiations in a social media group, airing private communications, mischaracterizing proposals, and posting personal attacks trying to bully opponents. This conduct, broadcasting selective, private communications, undermined trust and poisoned the environment needed for a fair, good-faith agreement.

• Pressure on student moderators: WW Together is in receipt of a communication from organizers explaining that the mayor demanded the removal of a highly accomplished female student moderator.  Not because of any actual conflict related to the forum, but because she had previously published nonpolitical news content on a site whose editor the mayor holds a personal grudge against. According to organizers, this pressure resulted in the student stepping down. WW Forward then announced a change in moderators but did not inform WW Together beforehand. No public forum should be reshaped to placate a candidate who seeks to sideline a student moderator for reasons unrelated to fairness or impartiality.

• Bad-faith conditions around recording: The mayor insisted on an “open-recording and distribution” condition designed to manufacture campaign collateral, not to foster an informative conversation for residents. His social media activity makes clear this was the intent, converting a community forum into a campaign stunt instead of a balanced event for voters.

These actions are inconsistent with the ethical standards our community deserves from its leaders. In our view, they reflect profoundly unacceptable conduct that put a student-led civic event and the students themselves in the crosshairs of campaign-style pressure.

Our Commitment Hasn’t Changed

WW Together remains fully prepared to participate in a fair, neutral forum under the terms presented and agreed to.  These terms were crafted with significant effort by WW Forward and align with standard, widely used formats. We respect the time and energy invested by the student organizers, the League of Women Voters, and Mr. Rasmussen, whose credentials and experience in moderating candidate events are beyond question.

If organizers wish to re-schedule the forum under those neutral terms, we will be there.

To West Windsor Residents

From day one, our campaign has centered on integrity, transparency, and direct conversations with residents about responsible development, public safety, infrastructure, and sustainability. We are not hiding. Meet us at our community events, stop by our booth at Community Day, attend our published meet and greets, invite us to your neighborhood, or review our platform at wwtogether.org/platform. We’ll continue to answer every question: no dodges, no theatrics.

Call to Uphold Standards

Elections should elevate our town’s best values, not intimidate students, weaponize private communications, or convert civic forums into content farms. We urge all parties, including the Mayor, to return to basic norms of decency and fairness so West Windsor voters get the respectful, issues-focused forum they deserve.

Media Contact:

West Windsor Together

team@wwtogether.org | wwtogether.org