Six times as mayor and six times as deputy mayor in Montgomery.
By: Paul Sisolak
MONTGOMERY After 21 consecutive years serving on the Township Committee, Donald Matthews has decided to call it a day.
Mr. Matthews, a Republican, announced Monday he will not seek re-election to the committee.
During more than two decades of elective office, he served six times as mayor and six times as deputy mayor.
Mr. Matthews, 73, said the demands of his position and the long evenings spent at Township Committee meetings have taken away from his family life.
"It’s time to take a breather," he said. "I have taken 21 years of evenings with my wife away."
Recalling his years serving the township, Mr. Matthews said the committee’s most significant achievement was preventing the state from turning the former North Princeton Developmental Center into a large housing development. However, he said, the committee’s ongoing inability to purchase the site from the state for the township’s own use has been a disappointment.
Mr. Matthews, who spent much of his career as a dairy farmer, said the NPDC issue and the startup of the Montgomery Landmarks and Shade Tree committees reinforce the importance of preserving township land.
"It makes me realize the value of open space," he said.
Mr. Matthews still serves on the Montgomery Fire Prevention, Veterans Memorial and NPDC committees. And he said running for a Township Committee seat next year for the 2005 committee may still be a possibility.
Committeeman Mark Caliguire, who was sworn in Thursday to replace former Committeewoman Sondra Moylan, will seek election to a full term in the November election. His interim term expires in December.
Janet Linnus of the Montgomery Republican Committee said Skillman resident Hugh Hurley will be Mr. Caliguire’s running mate. Two of the five committee seats are being contested in the November election.
Mr. Hurley is the director of product management for Merrill Lynch Inc. in Plainsboro. He is a travel soccer coach and a member of the parish council of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Montgomery, said Ms. Linnus.
On the Democratic side, Cecilia Xie Birge and Mark Petraske were selected Monday by the Montgomery Democratic Committee as the party’s nominees for the Township Committee.
Ms. Birge currently serves on the township’s Budget and Finance Advisory Committee and hopes to use her financial background as an influence on committee spending matters.
"It is very important that we control municipal spending," she said.
Mr. Petraske, a member of the township’s Transportation Advisory Committee, is a civil defense attorney with Buckley & Theroux in Montgomery. If elected, he said he hopes to take a leadership role in smart growth and easing traffic on Route 206.

