In addition to his new role as the Republican joint caucus leader, Sen. Carl Ford will co-chair two committees and serve as a member of four others during the upcoming 2021-22 legislative session.

Ford, a Republican who represents Rowan and Stanly counties in state Senate District 33, will co-chair the State and Local Government committee, along with the Appropriations on General Government committee. He will also serve as a member of the base budget committee, transportation committee, pensions committee and redistricting committee.

“I’m honored to be appointed to these six committees and chairman of two,” Ford said. “I’ll do my best to give it my all for the people of Rowan and Stanly counties.”

As co-chair of the State and Local Government committee, Ford will review and monitor local government debt that exceeds $1 million to address any issues. The debt reviewed does not deal with school, administrative, court or jail facilities. And in the Appropriations on General Government committee, Ford will be charged with hearing and setting the budgets in each state department and Council of State offices.

Rep. Harry Warren, R-76, told the Post that House members have yet to receive their committee assignments, but that he requested to remain on the same committees he has served. During the last legislative session, he chaired the Finance and State and Local Government committees, and served as vice-chairman of the Elections and Ethics Law House committee.

Both the House and Senate will convene for the legislative session on Wednesday, though Warren and Ford told the Post bills won’t be filed for the session until the end of the month.

 

N.C. House Democrats elect caucus whips and freshman leaders

 

Gov. Roy Cooper announces appointments to a dozen state commissions

Gov. Roy Cooper last week announced new appointments to boards and commissions across North Carolina.

• North Carolina 911 Board: John L. Moore of Raleigh as a VoIP provider representative. Moore is the regional director of strategic sales for Spectrum Enterprise. Moore has worked for Time Warner Cable/Spectrum Enterprise since 2001.

• Clean Water Management Trust Fund: John B. Wilson of Chapel Hill as chair. Wilson is a former board member and president of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, board member of the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation and the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation, and President’s Council member of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

• North Carolina State Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners: Traci Lorraine Farmer of Raleigh as a licensed cosmetologist. Farmer has been the Owner and Operator of Crazy Combs Salon since 2001. She is an Advisory Board Member for REACH (Resilience, Empowerment, Access for Children Experiencing Homelessness) of Passage Homes in Wake County.

• North Carolina Council for Women: Tracey D. Ray of Burgaw as a member at-large. Ray is the executive director of Safe Haven of Pender and Duplin counties, serving victims of domestic violence.

• North Carolina Interagency Coordinating Council for Children from Birth to Five with Disabilities: Neil H. Robinette of Southern Pines as a parent of a disabled child under age 6. Robinette is the CEO for C.F. Smith Property Group in Pinehurst, where he is responsible for strategic business direction and development. Dania M. Ermentrout of Greensboro was appointed, and is a parent of a disabled child under 12. Ermentrout is a N.C. Medicaid CAP/C pediatric case manager with Footprints Case Management in Guilford County. Hannah L. Bridges of Weaverville was also appointed as a parent of a disabled child under 12. Bridges is the Western Outreach Parent Educator for the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center and the Regional Chapter Coordinator for the Autism Society of North Carolina.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Commission: Rodney E. Harris of Youngsville as a member at-large. Harris is an assistant professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. JaunKerra Sanders of Plymouth was appointed as a member at-large. Sanders is a student records specialist for Guilford County Schools. Rebecca Trammel of Wilmington was appointed as a member at-large. Trammel is the founder and president of Ruthie Trammel’s Champions for Compassion. Trammel is also lead advocate at Community Conversations, which she launched in 2019 to promote equity and excellence in education for Black and brown students in New Hanover County. Allison Mathews of Winston-Salam was appointed as a member at-large. Mathews is the associate director of Integrating Special Populations in the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity (MACHE) at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and is an adjunct assistant professor of sociology at Wake Forest University.

• North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences Advisory Committee: Bernadette Healy Goodnight of Raleigh as a member at-large. Goodnight has worked at Barefoot family law for the past decade. Goodnight is also a volunteer yoga teacher at the Brentwood Boys and Girls Club. Lauren G. Cole of Whiteville was appointed as a member at-large. Cole has worked with the North Carolina Community College System for more than 40 years in roles from faculty to vice president of Academic Affairs.

• NCWorks Commission: Leslie Lillard Walden of Chapel Hill as a business representative of IT software. Walden is the vice president of Regional Public Affairs for Fidelity Investments. Walden previously worked as a public affairs’ special assistant to the U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Peña and as the press secretary for both Rep. John W. Oliver and Sen. John F. Kerry.

• Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission: Cheyenne N. Chambers of Charlotte as a member at-large. Chambers is a lawyer at Tim, Fulton, Walker, and Owen in Charlotte. Terrence Dewberry of Raleigh was also appointed as a member at-large. Dewberry is the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1328 and a bus operator for GoRaleigh Transit.

• Social Services Commission: Dr. Sigmund I. Tannebaum of Greensboro as a 6th Congressional District representative. Tannebaum is the attending physician within the Division of Urology at Durham Veteran’s Administration Medical Center.

• Youth Advisory Council: Dr. Todd J. Rosendahl of Graham as chair. Rosendahl joined Bringing Theory to Practice, a national initiative dedicated to engaged, holistic higher education located at Elon University, as program coordinator in August after working in community-based advocacy non-profit organizations at the local, state and national levels.

• North Carolina Zoological Park Council: Krista Ann Hunt of Burlington as a member at-large. Hunt is the majority owner of Bella’s House Consignment, a store that sells new and used furniture and home décor in Burlington. Hunt is a member of the North Carolina Zoo Society and is on the board of Pet Adoption Welfare Society (PAWS) of Alamance County.