By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Politics in the 16th legislative district, a four-county-area spanning parts of Central Jersey that includes Princeton, could be turned on its head in 2017 with Republican Assemblyman Jack M. Ciattarelli running for governor, Democratic Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker possibly seeking higher officer and former lawmaker Donna Simon mounting a comeback., Election Day is a ways away, but there have been a series of maneuvers with implications for Democrats and Republicans. Mr. Ciattarelli, 55, has decided to forgo running for re-election to his Assembly seat so he can concentrate on the governor’s race. He has what his campaign is calling a “kick-off reception” on Jan.19., In the meantime, Mr. Zwicker, 52, a first-term Assemblyman who defeated Ms. Simon in a close race in 2015, has not announced whether he plans to run for his seat again. He said Friday he will be running for something in 2017, potentially for state Senate against incumbent Kip Bateman., “I’ll leave that option open,” Mr. Zwicker said in a phone interview., Having just come from seeing the latest Star Wars film, “Rogue One,” he said with a touch of humor that “the force would need to be with me” and “all the stars would have to be aligned.”, He said he was just getting his political career started and wanted to put himself in the best position “to move forward.” He and others from his campaign team are vetting potential running mates, with an announcement of a ticket coming in the early part of 2017, Mr. Zwicker said., Yet it is unclear who might be on the slate with Mr. Zwicker, either for Assembly or state Senate. Princeton, home to a large number of Democrats, could be one place he turns to find running mates – or not., “I hadn’t heard anyone from Princeton is running,” said Princeton Democratic chairwoman Scotia W. MacRae by phone Friday., Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert has repeatedly said she has no interest. Mercer County Freeholder Andrew Koontz, also from Princeton and whose name has been floated as a potential candidate for higher office, took his name out the running., “I just have too much on my plate this year,” he said by phone Friday., As for Ms. Simon, she is attempting a political comeback by running with Mr. Bateman and Somerset County Freeholder Mark Caliguire, 56, on the GOP side. Ms. Simon, 56, said Friday that around Thanksgiving, she had made up her mind to run for office again., “I took some time to really think about it and have some time to talk to my family about it, because it is an incredible commitment,” she said by phone., In explaining why she plans to jump back in, she said, “I think it’s definitely worth the fight, especially for the taxpayer.”, “New Jersey is absolutely worth fighting for, the taxpayers are worth fighting for,” she said. “And I think that what’s been transpiring over the past year, I think we need people down there that are willing to focus on the real issues instead of politics and do what’s necessary.”, She will be joined by Mr. Caliguire, who will be her running mate. He is a freeholder and former mayor of Montgomery. “I believe in making a difference,” he said Thursday in an interview., “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,” he said. “I think, in some ways, the state could learn a lot from the way some local governments operate.”, The 16th district includes parts of Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Somerset counties. Voter data from 2015 showed the district had 143,176 registered voters; Democrats make up 27.5 percent, Republicans 23.8 percent, unaffiliated 48.6 and all others the rest., In 2017, in addition to the governor’s race, both houses of the state Legislature will be up for grabs. Democrats hold a 24-16 majority in the Senate and a 52-28 majority in the Assembly.
