Margaret Reif truly has her work cut out for her when she wins in November. The Controller’s Office, one of the four county-row offices, has been dominated by one political party for two hundred and twenty years, and, consequently, there has been no reliable system of checks and balances. Therefore, there has been little accountability. Margaret plans to change all of that. And, yes, she’s definitely qualified to do so.

Margaret grew up on Long Island and received a degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Scranton. Currently, she manages the small contracting business she and her husband have run for twenty-five years. Further, she has worked as Controller for a non-profit in Malvern and has been an investment liaison at Vanguard.

Most significantly, Margaret demonstrates a clear understanding of the financial quagmire of both state and county governments.  She decries the fact that a Republican-controlled State legislature has balanced the budget by cutting necessary human services and by ignoring serious infrastructure problems.  Plus, she is acutely aware of how state financial problems cripple county budgets. So, as Controller, she plans to rid the budget of inefficiencies, ensure that record-keeping is beyond reproach, and determine if money can be saved without hurting the neediest Chester County citizens.

Finally, Margaret is very proud to be among the 11,000-plus women nation-wide who have decided to run for office since the November 2016 election. Those women have often been mocked by being called “snowflakes.”  That purportedly offensive name suggests that they will be pretty and sparkling for a short time, possibly, even, distracting, but that they will melt before they can achieve anything of substance. Margaret vehemently begs to differ.  “I embrace that term, “ she says.  “Just think what a strong, determined wave of snowflakes can do. They create an avalanche!”

By Brenda Mercomes