| ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONER ALICE GORDON ANNOUNCES SHE WILL NOT SEEK ANOTHER TERM "I have had the honor and privilege of being a county commissioner for more than twenty years, and I wish to thank the residents of Orange County for their confidence and trust in electing me six times," she said. "I believe that we have made great progress in addressing the goals I set out to accomplish when I first ran for office." To recognize her service as a commissioner, Leadership Triangle honored Alice with the Goodmon Award for Exemplary Regional Leadership by an Elected Official in 2006 for her significant contributions in the areas of environmental protection and regional transportation. In 2012, the Chapel Hill Historical Society honored her as a Town Treasure for her many contributions to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community. Particularly noteworthy were her leadership in establishing the county's nationally recognized Lands Legacy Program for the protection of significant natural and cultural resources and her work to promote excellence in the public schools. Alice Gordon's service as a commissioner has focused on the areas of public education, environmental protection, and regional transportation. She has been a dedicated champion of excellent schools and played an important role in crafting the county's Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance to plan ahead for school growth. Most recently, her goal of adding a science wing to Culbreth Middle School in Chapel Hill was realized when a groundbreaking ceremony for the addition was held in December 2013. She is particularly proud of the leadership she provided for two national award-winning initiatives that have had a positive impact on Orange County. One initiative led to the establishment of the county's Lands Legacy Program, the first comprehensive county land acquisition program in North Carolina. In 1998, Alice proposed the creation of this program, as well as a new county department to focus on environmental protection. In 2007, the Lands Legacy Program won the Excellence in County Planning Award from the National Association of County Planners. Through this program, Orange County has protected over 3000 acres of the county's most important natural and cultural resources, including parkland, farmland, and critical natural areas. The result of the second initiative was the first joint transportation plan for the western and eastern parts of the Triangle area, which had previously been planned separately. While chairing the policy board of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the western Triangle, she led the cooperative effort between the eastern and western Triangle MPOs to create a joint transportation plan for the region. In 2009, the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations honored the two MPOs with the National Award for Outstanding Achievement in Metropolitan Transportation Planning for their exemplary collaborative planning effort. THAT SHE WOULD NOT RUN FOR RE-ELECTION CHAPELBORO AND WCHL CHAPELBORO - Posted Thursday, January 9, 2014 "Long-time OC Commissioner Alice Gordon Won't Seek Re-Election" http://tinyurl.com/ksodvdb CHAPELBORO AND WCHL WCHL Interview - Broadcast on Thursday, January 9, 2014 An audio of the interview is included in the Chapelboro posting above. CHAPEL HILL MAGAZINE AND THE WEEKLY CHAPEL HILL MAGAZINE - Posted January 9, 2014 "Alice Gordon Won't Seek Re-election" http://tinyurl.com/ozmscaq CHAPEL HILL MAGAZINE AND THE WEEKLY THE WEEKLY - Published Thursday, January 16, 2014 "This Week We Speak with ALICE GORDON" CHAPEL HILL NEWS - Posted Thursday, January 9, 2014 "Orange Commissioner Alice Gordon won't seek re-election" http://tinyurl.com/ozkfqra CHAPEL HILL NEWS - Published Sunday, January 12, 2014 "Gordon rules out run for 7th term" THE DAILY TAR HEEL - Updated Tuesday, January 14, 2014 "County commissioner announces retirement" http://tinyurl.com/nlw45e9 THE DAILY TAR HEEL - Published Tuesday, January 14, 2014 "County commissioner announces retirement" THE HERALD SUN - Updated Thursday, January 9, 2014 "Gordon won't seek another term in Orange County" http://tinyurl.com/qbhmvv2 THE HERALD SUN - Posted Saturday, January 18, 2014 "Commissioners race taking shape" http://tinyurl.com/pt55mwm THE NEWS OF ORANGE COUNTY - Published Wednesday, January 15, 2014 "Gordon won't seek re-election to BOCC" THE NEWS OF ORANGE COUNTY - Published Wednesday, January 29, 2014 "Gordon won't seek re-election to BOCC" http://tinyurl.com/p34jchs ORANGE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY - Posted Thursday, January 16, 2014 "Commissioner Alice Gordon Announces Retirement" http://www.orangedems.com/node/873 Alice's photo by Catharine Carter |