Nicole Raz
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — For the past four years, Loudoun County has had an all-white, all-Republican board of supervisors. The county is kicking off 2016 with their most diverse board in history.
“We have three millennials and two people of color, and the first woman to chair a board in Virginia,” says Chairwoman Phyllis Randall.
Randall told WMAL that she’s honored to be the first woman chair in the state, and one of two African Americans elected. Also a Democrat, she’s looking forward to working with her Republican colleagues. The board now has six Republican members and three Democrat supervisors.
“Everybody wants to be heard, and have their positions heard. Obviously, we won’t always agree on issues but we will disagree without being disagreeable,” she said.
This is Randall’s first elected office, but she says she isn’t worried about commanding authority of the board.
“The citizens handed me the authority on election day.”
Randall will run her first meeting as Chair Wednesday, and passing a new ethics pledge is a top priority.
“I do recognize that there have been some– probably it’s fair to say, ethical lapses–on past boards,” she said. “Opening the government up a little more–a lot more, in Loudoun — and having a transparent government and a board that sits under an ethical code is very important to me.”
She says she also hopes that having a more diverse board will encourage more community involvement whether it’s “serving on commissions and committees, speaking before the board, writing letters, staying aware, and maybe even for them to run for office some day. There are so many ways to be involved.”
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Loudoun County Board of Supervisors)
