PRINCETON: League honors two local women

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   Two local women were honored by the New Jersey League of Municipalities last week for their service in municipal government.
   ”Whether you are a woman in government or business, your road is going to be very different,” said Lori Grifa, commissioner of the Division of Community Affairs, a member of Gov. Chris Christie’s cabinet. “I’ve accepted that.”
   Ms. Grifa was the keynote speaker at the League of Municipalities Third Annual Women in Municipal Government Celebration on Friday at the Princeton Marriott.
   The first honoree was Ingrid Reed, a Princeton woman who was honored for her work as policy analyst and former director of the New Jersey Project at Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University and the impact she has had on politics in the state.
   ”I’m pleased that the work I’ve done is seen as valuable,” she said afterward. “They’re not honoring me as a person or grandma, (her work) helps voters and that’s important.”
   In the coming months, Ms. Reed will be focusing on her newest project, New Jersey Spotlight, a website dedicated to political issues in the Garden State.
   ”If you can get information, you can be powerful,” she said.
   Mary Testori, tax collector of Plainsboro and the president of the Tax Collectors and Treasurers Association of New Jersey, accepted an award on her organizations’ behalf.
   ”We feel for our taxpayer and don’t see them as a piece of paper,” she said.
   About 80 percent of members of the organization are women, she said.
   The League of Women Voters and the Alice Paul Institute were also honored.