For the past decade, Carol Torres has moved up the ranks in municipal government. Now she is Plainsboro’s newest municipal clerk.
The Plainsboro Township Committee voted unanimously on July 14 to appoint Torres to a three-year term as clerk. For the past two years, she had been serving as acting clerk, after former Clerk Pat Hullfish retired. Prior to that, Torres was deputy clerk.
Torres was born in Puerto Rico and moved with her family to New Jersey more than 33 years ago. Her mother is a homemaker, and her father is in the welding business. Torres currently lives with her husband, a firefighter in Trenton, and their two daughters in Burlington County.
She began working in the health department in Trenton more than a decade ago, moving her way up to working under the director of the department. She began in the Trenton clerk’s office in 2002, where she worked for the following three years before being hired in 2005 as deputy clerk in Plainsboro, working under Hullfish.
“Starting off in a much larger city, it’s different in terms of the public and the different type of government system,” she said. Upon coming to Plainsboro, “it was a bit of a shell shock because it’s not a large city. What I like about being in Plainsboro is that you have more of a one-on-one; you get involved more than you do in a larger city.”
Torres worked under Hullfish, who picked up where her former boss in Trenton left off in training her. “They really opened my eyes about how to interact with the public and how to understand politics and to work with the government,” she said.
When Hullfish retired, Torres was appointed as acting clerk until she finished her certification. She just fulfilled the last requirement – passing the state exam. But Torres will be involved in ongoing education through seminars associated with her work as the registrar, which requires her to learn about changes in the law. Torres said she would bring those changes to the town and make sure procedures are updated and followed properly. Another one of her goals is to “find ways to serve people in a more efficient manner.”
“I appreciate and took to heart all the support I received through getting hired as deputy, being encouraged to continue, and being given the opportunity to take the state exam and get the certification,” said Torres. “The support has been overwhelming.”
“If I were to be asked whether or not I would prefer the city or suburban atmosphere, I would definitely say Plainsboro Township,” she said about working in the two municipalities. “It makes my 45-minute commute worth it.”
