“People yell at me at the grocery store about their tax bill,” he says. “I tell them the truth: the only way to lower taxes is to grow our commercial tax base. And that starts with the riverfront.”
That balance—between the daily pothole complaints and the decade-long strategic vision—defines the Steinmann era. Steinmann didn’t grow up dreaming of the corner office. A lifelong Ewing resident and former township councilman, he was known as the quiet numbers guy. When Mayor Lester “Lee” V. Carlson Jr. died suddenly in office in September 2019, the council turned to Steinmann to steady the ship. ewing nj mayor
For decades, this 170-acre stretch along the Delaware River was a symbol of Ewing’s industrial might. After the plant closed in 1998, it became a symbol of rust-belt decay—a fenced-off, contaminated ghost town in the heart of Mercer County. For nearly 25 years, every mayor promised to fix it. But it is Steinmann, a low-key Democrat first elected in 2020, who finally has a wrecking ball on site. “People yell at me at the grocery store
“It’s not sexy,” Steinmann says. “But it pays the bills.” On a Thursday night, Steinmann attends a town hall at the Hollowbrook Community Center. The issue: deer overpopulation. Residents want a cull; animal activists want relocation. The debate gets heated. Steinmann didn’t grow up dreaming of the corner office