Princeton Councilwoman Eve Niedergang will not seek reelection in November.
Niedergang, who is a Democrat, announced her intention to not seek a third term on the Princeton Council at its reorganization meeting Jan. 3.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve on the Princeton Council. I hope my final year will be as challenging and productive as the last five years,” she said.
Niedergang said it is hard to balance the immense amount of work generated by a very active Princeton Council with her other commitments.
She spends about 40 to 60 hours per week on Princeton Council-related matters, in addition to her part-time job at The Watershed Institute. It leaves little time for a personal life, she said.
“I just didn’t think that I could commit to doing the kind of job that I have done – that I would want to do and that the people of Princeton deserve – for another three-year term starting in January 2025,” she said.
Niedergang said she would like to have time to spend with family and friends, to travel, read and take classes.
Reflecting on her two terms on the Princeton Council, Niedergang said she helped to lead the efforts to acquire a 153-acre parcel which is the largest remaining open space tract in Princeton. The town worked with a consortium of nonprofit groups to make the purchase in 2021.
The property, which has frontage on Province Line Road and Cherry Valley Road in the northwest corner of the town, is an old forest of oak, beech and cherry trees.
Niedergang also led the charge to adopt an ordinance that limited the use of gasoline leaf blowers on a seasonal basis. It was a year-long community process that involved Sustainable Princeton, the Princeton Environmental Commission and other groups, she said.
Also, Niedergang headed the search committee to hire a new municipal administrator in 2021. She also advocated and led the hiring of the town’s first communications director.
“It is really hard to contemplate leaving a job that I find so rewarding and stimulating, but I am at peace with this decision,” Niedergang said.
