The beginning of a long meeting of the Orange County Commissioners on Monday night started with the election of new leadership on the board.
Commissioner Mark Dorosin was sworn in for his second terms as a commissioner and promptly elected chair of the board unanimously.
“Thank you to all of my colleagues for that overwhelming display of support and effusion,” Dorosin said. “I appreciate it very much. I look forward to following in the footsteps of Earl [McKee] and Barry [Jacobs] and Bernadette [Pelissier] and others who have chaired this board.
“And I will really do my best to make sure that we work efficiently and effectively and always moving forward toward our goals of inclusion, equity, social justice and good government.”
Dorosin is following McKee as the most recent board chair.
Penny Rich was unanimously selected as the board vice chair – a position Dorosin previously held.
Dorosin and Rich were both elected to their second terms on the board in November. Both are also representatives from District 1, which represents the southern portion of the county.
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