Democratic candidates for the Princeton Township Committee, the 5-member local governing body, may seek the endorsement of the PCDO as well as the Princeton Township Democratic Committee (PTDC). The PTDC is the official local body of the Democratic Party, consisting of members elected in the June Democratic Primary of each even-numbered year - a woman and a man from each of Princeton Township's 14 voting districts.

Here are the key steps and dates for 2008 candidates:

a) No later than Sunday, March 16: Local candidates seeking the PCDO and PTDC endorsements should contact Dan Preston (PTDC chair, dan[at]princetondems.org) and Jenny Crumiller (PCDO president, jenny[AT]princetondems.org) of their intent to seek the endorsements. Candidates should also be sure to join the PCDO and make sure their dues are paid by this date.

b) Sunday, March 30, 7:30pm: PCDO local candidates night - presentations by local candidates, and endorsement vote by PCDO members who've paid dues at least 2 weeks in advance. To get the PCDO endorsement, candidates must receive at least 60 percent of the votes from their own municipality, and 50 percent of all votes cast (Borough + Township).

c) Monday, March 31, 7:30pm: The PTDC will meet to make its own endorsement IF there is competition. Candidates will be invited to meet with the committee individually. Voting will be by secret ballot.

The PCDO result will be an important input to the PTDC's deliberations, but is not binding. In part, this is because the 60 percent threshold for a PCDO endorsement is not always reached, so it's possible that the PCDO will not endorse any candidate(s) - in which case the PTDC needs to make a recommendation. Otherwise, the County Chair will make his own decision on ballot position (which is key in a Primary) without any local input.

d) Monday, April 7: Petition filing deadline for candidates seeking election in the June 3 Primary Election. All candidates are free to file whether they receive PCDO/Committee endorsements or not. Endorsed candidates are most likely to receive favorable ballot position ("in the column"), but this decision is ultimately up to the County Chair.