Woronchak
elected chairman
of
Wayne County Commission
Commissioner Gary Woronchak has been elected chairman of the Wayne County Commission for the 2011-12 term.
Woronchak, D-Dearborn, was elected at the commission's organizational meeting Jan. 4, 2011. He succeeds Edward Boike Jr., D-Taylor, who served as chair for the previous term and retired from the commission at the end of December.
Also elected to leadership positions Tuesday were Commissioner Alisha Bell, D-Detroit, who will serve as vice chair, and Commissioner Laura Cox, R-Livonia, who was elected vice chair pro tem. The 15-member commission elects its officers at the first meeting of each two-year term.
As chairman, Woronchak will be responsible for the commission's $9.4 million budget and its employees, as well as scheduling and running meetings and appointing members to standing committees and special task forces.
Woronchak is serving his fourth term on the commission, representing Dearborn, Allen Park and Melvindale in the county's 13th District. Prior to being elected to the commission in 2004, he served three terms in the state House of Representatives. Before government service, he worked more than 20 years as a newspaper editor.
While he said the commission will work with the executive branch and County Executive Robert Ficano to address challenges facing the county, Woronchak added, "we must never lose sight of our function and duty as the legislative branch – to be the check and balance, to always question and, when necessary, to challenge the administration."
"The powers and duties of this commission are listed clearly in the county charter, and are granted to us by the people of Wayne County who adopted that charter," Woronchak said in his acceptance speech Tuesday. "Legislative oversight is a vital function. We will regard it as such, and insist that others within county government do as well."
Prior to being elected chairman for this term, Woronchak held notable committee posts within the commission. He was chairman of the Committee on Audit, vice chair of the Committee on Economic Development, and as a member of the Government Operations Committee.
The Committee on Economic Development deals with business development, community development programs, land use planning and affordable housing opportunities. The Committee on Government Operations reviews standards and practices related to general government.
Mandated by the county charter, the Committee on Audit provides financial and operational oversight through the review and reports of the Auditor General and outside auditors and consultants. It also monitors compliance with audit findings.
In April 2006, Gary was named to the Commission's Special Task Force on the Pinnacle Project, to examine the county's long-planned development of property around Metro Airport and look into why the project has taken so long to get off the ground.
In 2010 he was appointed vice chair of the Commission's Special Task Force on Ethics.
Wayne
County Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak makes remarks after being
elected chairman at the Jan. 4, 2011 organizational meeting of the commission.
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