Gardner, Bryan to Lead Board

The Wake County Board of Commissioners on Monday elected Kenn Gardner as its new chair and Joe Bryan as vice chair, effective immediately, for a one-year term.  The chair presides over Board meetings and represents the County in an official capacity at community, business and other functions.

Commissioner Gardner joined the Board in December 2000. He has been vice chair for the past year.  He serves on the National Association of Counties (NACo) Environment, Energy and Land Use Steering Committee.  He also chairs the Board's Growth, Land Use and Environment Committee, and serves on the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee. He chaired the Watershed Management Task Force, which presented its final report to the Board in November 2002 to protect the County's drinking water and reduce flooding and erosion.

 Bryan joined the Board in 2002.  He is vice chair of the Board's Budget, Finance and Education Committee and its Human and Community Service Committee. He serves as chair of the Capital Area Transportation Planning Organization (CAMPO) and is the former mayor of Knightdale.

Gardner said he appreciated the confidence of his fellow commissioners in electing him as chair, and said his goals would be to continue the County's emphasis on growth and environmental initiatives and to focus on a number of other critical issues before the County, such as the appropriate level of education funding, mental health reform and delivering services to citizens efficiently.

"This Board continues to work hard to meet the challenges of growth and preserving our environment," he said. "We have been able to reach consensus with municipalities on protection strategies while also keeping in mind the importance of continued economic development."