Greg Ford
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Greg Ford | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Wake County Board of Commissioners | |
| In office December 6, 2016 – December 7, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Betty Lou Ward |
| Succeeded by | Shinica Thomas |
| Constituency | Wake County's 6th District |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gregory David Ford January 8, 1973 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Anthony Pugliese (m. 2015) |
| Education | St. John Fisher University (AB) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Masters Degree) |
| Website | gregford |
Greg Ford (born January 8, 1973) is an American educator and politician who served two terms on the Wake County Board of Commissioners in Wake County, North Carolina, representing the 6th District from 2016 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, Ford is the first openly LGBTQ commissioner in Wake County history and the first openly LGBTQ county chairman in North Carolina history.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Ford was born in Rochester, New York, on January 8, 1973, and grew up in rural Churchville, New York, on the family farm. Ford earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. John Fisher University in 1995. He was awarded a North Carolina Principal Fellows Program fellowship in 2001 to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with a Masters Degree in 2003. In 2007, Ford was awarded a fellowship to the Executive Program for School Leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill. While serving as a Wake County commissioner, Ford was awarded a David Bohnett Foundation Fellowship by the LGBTQ Victory Fund to attend the Senior Executives in State and Local Leadership Program at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2018.[2]
Career in public education[edit]
Ford taught American history and government and earth science courses in the Wake County Public School System starting in 1996. He served as a coach, grade level team leader, department chair and program coordinator for behaviorally and emotionally disabled children.
In 2008, the Wake County Board of Education appointed principal of Hilburn Drive Elementary School in northwest Raleigh.[3] The school was under-enrolled with declining academic scores and an aging base attendance zone.[4] Ford successfully lobbied the district's superintendent, Tony Tata (former U.S. Army general, novelist and later NC Secretary of Transportation under Governor Pat McCrory) for funding to transform Hilburn Drive Elementary into a model PreK-8th grade STEM school.[5] Tata and the school board approved Ford's request for the new Hilburn Academy, opening it to applications beyond the base attendance area. Ford implemented innovative programming with dynamic scheduling and launched several athletic and arts programs, including digital arts, dance and orchestra.[6] Within 3 years, the school was considered a success, with a wait list and exceptional growth across all subject areas via the state’s end of grade test scores.[7]
Electoral history[edit]
In July 2015, Ford that he would resign from his position as principal to pursue a run for local office.[8] Ford announced his candidacy for the District 6 seat on the Wake County Board of Commissioners, saying he could more effectively address local priorities and initiatives.[9] The seat was being vacated by Commissioner Betty Lou Ward, who announced she would be retiring in December 2016 after holding the seat since 1988.[10]
2016 campaign[edit]
Ford was unopposed in the Democratic primary in 2016. In the general election, he faced longtime Republican Raleigh City Council member John Odom.[11] Ford defeated Odom on November 8, 2016 with 277,142 votes (56.2%) to Odom's 216,272 votes (43.8%) due to a strong ground campaign.[12] Ford was sworn in on December 3, 2020, the first educator to serve on the board of commissioners since Vernon Malone, the first LGBT Wake County commissioner and one of just eight LGBT elected officials in the state at the time.[13]
2018 campaign[edit]
The Republican-controlled North Carolina General Assembly passed a law in 2016 limiting commissioner terms for Democratic-leaning Wake and Mecklenburg Counties to two years, while the state's remaining 98 counties remained at four years.[14] Ford was unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced Republican David Blackwelder in the general election.[15] [16] Ford won reelection with 262,240 votes (61.6%) to Blackwelder's 163,601 votes (38.4%).[17] Upon reelection, the Board of Commissioners unanimously elected Ford as Vice Chairman for 2019-2019, the first LGBT citizen in North Carolina to be elected to a leadership position at the county level.[18] In December 2019, the Board unanimously elected Ford as chairman for the 2019-2020 term.[19]
2020 campaign[edit]
Ford announced he would run for a third term in 2020 while serving as board chairman. He was unopposed in the Democratic Primary and faced Republican Karen Weathers in the general election.[20] Ronnie Shirley, reality television personality of "Lizard Lick Towing", announced his intention to oppose Ford in the race as well.[21] Shirley attempted to gather enough petitions to meet the threshold for being placed on the ballot but failed to do so by the required deadline.[22]
In July 2020, Ford announced he would withdraw as his party's nominee due an upcoming relocation due to his husband Anthony Pugliese's new job.[23] Ford stated he would rather withdraw and have the party's nominee on the November ballot for voters rather than win the election and then resign.[24] In late July, the Democratic Executive Committee selected Shinica Thomas as Ford's successor.[25] Ford immediately endorsed Thomas and actively supported her campaign. Thomas won the seat in November with 59% of the vote.[26]
COVID-19 Pandemic[edit]
As chairman in 2020, Ford led the county's response to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. On March 26, 2020, Ford declared a State of Emergency for Wake County at a press conference as infections began to emerge and ordered the mobilization of the county's Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the emergency response.[27] [28]
Affordable housing[edit]
Commissioner Ford advocated for county support of a fully staffed and funded affordable housing department and corresponding board of commissioners committee for vision and oversight. He actively worked to expand affordable housing throughout the county and frequently supported the preservation of existing housing stock.[29]
Personal life[edit]
Ford is married to Anthony Pugliese, current president and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors.[30] They have three children and live in Orlando, Florida.
References[edit]
- ↑ Leigh, Tauss (September 26, 2018). "Wake Commissioner Greg Ford Wants to Blaze a Trail for Future LGBTQ Leaders". 'IndyWeek'.
- ↑ "Meet the 2018 David Bohnett Leaders Fellows". Victory Institute. May 25, 2018.
- ↑ "School board names four new principals". The News & Observer. January 23, 2008.
- ↑ Kellner, Chelsea (February 27, 2011). "Raleigh parents plead for school equity". 'Midtown Raleigh News, News & Observer'.
- ↑ "Tata proposes combined elementary, middle school". Capitol Broadcasting Corporation. WRAL Channel 5 News. September 2, 2011.
- ↑ Staff reports (November 5, 2011). "Hilburn Academy plans detailed". The News & Observer.
- ↑ Campbell, Colin (August 26, 2012). "Hilburn's K-8 model is a hit". The News & Observer.
- ↑ Hankerson, Mechelle (August 28, 2015). "Raleigh's Hilburn Academy principal resigns". The News & Observer, North Raleigh News.
- ↑ Specht, Paul (December 9, 2015). "Democrat files to replace Ward on Wake board". The News & Observer.
- ↑ Kenney, Andrew (April 21, 2015). "Wake County Commissioner Betty Lou Ward not running for re-election". The News & Observer.
- ↑ Specht, Paul (October 21, 2016). "GOP hopes to regain presence on Wake County Board of Commissioners". The News & Observer.
- ↑ "Democrats sweep 3 Wake commissioner seats; 9 school board members elected". Capitol Broadcasting Company. WRAL Channel 5 News. November 8, 2016.
- ↑ Specht, Paul (February 27, 2017). "Openly gay Wake commissioner opposes HB186, the HB2 repeal effort". The News & Observer.
- ↑ Perrin, Jonah (March 18, 2019). "Legislative v. judicial: A lengthy timeline of North Carolina gerrymandering". Common Cause.
- ↑ "Wake voters approve millions in bonds, Democratic commissioners". Capitol Broadcasting Company. WRAL Channel 5 News. November 6, 2018.
- ↑ Johnson, Anna (October 18, 2018). "Wake County early voting: Where to vote, who's running". The News & Observer.
- ↑ "Greg Ford". Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Johnson, Anna (December 4, 2018). "Wake County Politics: Holmes to lead commissioners for 2nd year; Ford named vice chair". The Raleigh News & Observer.
- ↑ Staff reports (December 5, 2019). "Wake Board of Commissioners elects chairman, vice chair". The Wake Weekly.
- ↑ "Here's all you need to know about the Wake County Board of Commissioners Election". Capitol Broadcasting Company. WRAL Channel 5 News. October 22, 2020.
- ↑ Johnson, Anna (February 28, 2018). "Reality TV star wants to enter Wake County politics". The News & Observer.
- ↑ Johnson, Anna (May 18, 2018). "'Lizard Lick Towing' star's venture into local politics may not last". The News & Observer.
- ↑ Johnson, Anna (July 10, 2020). "Wake County commissioners chairman withdraws from 2020 election". The News & Observer.
- ↑ CBS17 Digital News Desk (July 10, 2020). "Wake County Board of Commissioners chairman says he won't seek 3rd term". CBS17 News.
- ↑ "Thomas named Ford replacement on November ballot". Wake Forest Gazette. July 29, 2020.
- ↑ "Shinica Thomas". Ballotpedia.
- ↑ "Wake County declares state of emergency to aid COVID-19 response". CBS17.
- ↑ Raleigh Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin [@maryannbaldwin] (Mar 26, 2020). "I want to thank @GregFordNC, the Wake County Commission, all the Wake County mayors, Wake County staff and Raleigh City staff for all the hard work and thoughtfulness that went into this resolution. We are all in this together. And we will come out of this stronger. #StayatHome" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Goldsmith, Tommy (March 22, 2017). "Wake Commissioner: Help Is On the Way for Residents of Subsidized Apartment Complex in Garner Who Will Soon See Their Rents Hiked". IndyWeek.
- ↑ "IIA Names Anthony Pugliese as New President & CEO". CISION PR Newswire. January 12, 2021.
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