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September / October 2009
Volume 21, Number 5

News you can use

Ohio Commissioner wins NACo 2nd VP Election

The line toward the National Association of Counties’ presidency is growing shorter for Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, who moved into the first vice president position during the association’s annual conference in July.

Elected to the second vice president position was Ohio Commissioner Lenny Eliason, who had gained all of Texas’s 409 votes during its caucus meeting. The second vice president is the first of a successive line of one-year positions a person must hold to become the NACo president. Moving into the President position was Sonoma County, Calif., Supervisor Valerie Brown.

Texas was able to secure 409 votes thanks to increased membership recruitment, led by Denton County Clerk Cynthia Mitchell and Brazos County District Clerk Marc Hamlin. The two received the organization’s “Recruiters of the Year” award since Texas had the largest membership growth in NACo, with 16 counties joining the organization.

Also at the conference, members voted to expand NACo’s executive committee by four members, each member drawn from its Board of Directors and representing a different geographical region. The association felt that expanding its executive committee would allow for more contact with counties, enhanced membership recruitment and provide for regional policy input, among other benefits.

NACo also voted to eliminate its president-elect position, meaning that there will be no second vice president election next year