HONORING HER DEDICATION: Former Mayor Liz Lempert, in pink dress, was celebrated May 22 by members of Princeton Council, Mayor Mark Freda, and members of the municipal staff with a commemorative tree planting and plaque outside Witherspoon Hall.

By  Anne Levin

Among the most significant events in Princeton’s recent history was the 2013 consolidation of the former Township and Borough into a single entity. Serving as mayor when measure went into effect, and for the ensuing eight years, was Liz Lempert, who was recognized by the town on May 22 with a tree planting and plaque in her honor.

The tree is outside Witherspoon Hall, where Lempert was in office for two terms ending in 2020. On hand were Mayor Mark Freda, Princeton Council President Mia Sacks, and Councilmembers Eve Niedergang, David Cohen, Leighton Newlin, and Michelle Pirone Lambros, along with members of the municipal staff.

“I’m incredibly grateful,” Lempert said this week. “I just can’t think of a nicer, more meaningful way to be recognized. It’s a beautiful tree, and I’m looking forward to watching it grow over the years and change colors.”

Sacks delivered remarks recognizing Lempert’s contributions to Princeton’s formative years as a consolidated municipality. She thanked her for “leaving behind a solid foundation,” upon which “we continue to build daily.”

Sacks also expressed appreciation for Lempert’s ongoing commitment to the town since her departure from office. “Liz is the ultimate antidote to forces that threaten our collective well-being: isolation, entitlement, and indifference.”

Since leaving office, Lempert has been busy serving on the boards of several local nonprofits including Housing Initiatives of Princeton, Isles, Friends of Princeton Open Space, and the Princeton Garden Theatre.

A native of California, she served one term on the former Princeton Township Committee before being elected as the newly consolidated town’s mayor. She and her husband, Princeton University Neuroscience Professor Kenneth A. Norman, have two daughters, one of whom just graduated from college and the other from law school.

Lempert credits collaborations with colleagues for helping the transition from two separate entities to one.

“I really feel like it’s impossible to get anything done by yourself,” she said. “Everything is working as a team, and I was so fortunate to be able to work with so many great people. There are a lot of people who are part of the tree.”