[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 74 (Wednesday, June 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1014-E1015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO DEPUTY MAYOR MATHEW WITECKI FROM LITTLE FALLS, NEW JERSEY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 14, 2000

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to your attention to 
the life of a man I am proud to call my friend, Mathew Witecki of 
Little Falls, New Jersey, who passed from this Earth on Sunday, May 29, 
2000. It is only fitting that Mayor Witecki be honored, for he has a 
long history of caring, generosity and commitment to others. Due to his 
leadership and dedicated service, I am honored to submit these words to 
be immortalized in the annals of this greatest of all freely elected 
bodies.
  Fifteen years ago, Mathew Witecki made his political debut by wearing 
a gas mask and pushing a baby carriage during a protest to stop the 
construction of a landfill on part of the Montclair State University 
Campus. Mathew, the former mayor and deputy mayor of Little Falls, 
joined the picket line and helped fight plans to dump garbage from New 
York on a site near the border of Montclair and the township where he 
lived for 43 years.
  Since his political debut, Mayor Witecki, 76, a retired engineer, 
served on the Little Falls Township Council and was an active member of 
numerous community organizations until he died on this past Sunday. 
Mathew was the son of Polish immigrants who grew up during the 
depression. He is remembered as a man who never wasted time or 
resources. Mathew was a graduate of Newark College of Engineering and 
retired in 1986 as a senior engineer for Bendix Corp. after 45 years of 
service. He then worked as a consultant for Allied

[[Page E1015]]

Signal. Known for his honest approach to life, Mathew took a firm stand 
on community issues. Most recently, he was the founder and chairman of 
STOP, an organization created to block plans to run a natural gas 
pipeline underneath 33 North Jersey communities, including Little Falls 
and the 20 other towns in my Congressional District in New Jersey. I 
was proud to work along side of Mathew during these months fighting the 
pipeline. Even though we were from opposite sides of the aisle, Mathew 
never let politics get in the way of a cause in which he believed. We 
worked together in a bipartisan way to accomplish a goal on an issue we 
both were passionate about He was a tireless advocate of the families 
in the area. Along with his help, we fought the battle against the 
pipeline, and I pledge to continue to fight in his honor.
  Mathew Witecki was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 3835, 
the past president of the Passaic County Historical Society, trustee of 
the New Jersey Intergovernmental Insurance Fund and treasurer of 
Passaic County Vision 20/20 Inc. He was also a member of the Little 
Falls Planning Board, former chairman and trustee of Passaic County 
Solid Waste Authority and a member of the Little Falls Garden Club.
  The father of four, grandfather of 11, and great-grandfather of two, 
mayor Mathew Witecki is survived by his wife, the former Helen T. 
Stolarz; two sons, Mathew and John; two daughters, Patricia Murphy and 
Marybeth Witecki.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me, the family of Mayor Mathew 
Witecki, the residents of Little Falls and Passaic County, his friends 
and co-workers in honoring the life of a great man.

                          ____________________