By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Somerset County Freeholder Mark Caliguire will run as a Republican for state Assembly in the 16th legislative district next year and be on the same slate with state Sen. Kip Bateman and former Assemblywoman Donna Simon, who is making a political comeback.
“I believe in making a difference,” said Mr. Caliguire on Thursday in pointing to his political experience at local and county government. “I’m somebody who likes a challenge.”
Mr. Caliguire, a former mayor of Montgomery, has been a freeholder since December 2011, the year he was appointed to fill the remaining term on the freeholder board of newly elected state Assemblyman Jack M. Ciattarelli. He would appear to be again trying to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Ciattarelli by heading to Trenton.
“The state, as everyone knows, has a lot of challenges. I’m somebody, I think, who has learned a lot about the way local government works, about (how) county government works,” Mr. Caliguire said. “I think, in some ways, the state could learn a lot from the way some local governments operate.”
Mr. Caliguire, 56, filed paperwork with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission last week indicating he would be running in the GOP primary. He indicated he “probably” would be running with Ms. Simon, a Republican who lost her seat in 2015 to Democrat Andrew Zwicker, and Mr. Bateman.
“But we’ll have an announcement in the near future,” Mr. Caliguire said of the GOP ticket.
Ms. Simon could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Mr. Caliguire described himself as a “fiscal conservative” who is “right of center.” He would not say for whom he voted for in the past presidential race.
“I was not happy with either choice, let me put it that way,” he said, in adding he would “keep my vote in the privacy of the voting booth.”
He will have to run in a year with Republicans having an unpopular governor in Chris Christie finishing his last year in office. A recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University showed his approval ratings at 18 percent. But Mr. Caliguire had kind words for the governor.
“I think Chris Christie is one of the most talented politicians I’ve seen in my lifetime. I think he’s accomplished some good things,” he said. “History will probably look at his governorship as mixed. If you look at it in terms of a football game, the first half was probably a lot more successful than the second half.”
Mr. Caliguire points to the “pension crisis” as a pressing issue for the state. “The system we have isn’t sustainable, and everybody knows that. And people from both sides of the aisle need to get together and solve it or our children and grandchildren are not going to live in a kind place that we want to be in,” he said.
For his part, Mr. Ciattarelli is running for governor next year and ending his career in the Legislature. He could not be reached for comment.
“Jack is an incredibly talented politician, (a) very smart guy. And I think he’d make a great governor,”said Mr. Caliguire, who is supporting Mr. Ciattarelli’s gubernatorial bid. “Jack is someone I think I pattern myself after, in that he looks at issues pragmatically and tries to really study them. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him, is that he really learns the issue. He really does his homework.”
The 16th legislative district encompasses parts of Mercer, Somerset, Hunterdon and Middlesex counties, a once safe Republican district that has become more competitive of late. Princeton, a staunch Democrat town, is part of the 16th.
Mr. Caliguire is a graduate of Cornell University and the Georgetown University Law Center, according to his biography on the Somerset County government web site. He lists his occupation as a lawyer. Married, he and his wife, Tricia, have three children.
He is active in the community, both in youth sports, politics and his church. He is a former Montgomery Township Committeeman, having served from 2003 to 2011, during which time he was mayor in 2010 and 2011.
This story will be updated.
