NACo President Dunlap challenges counties to improve lives of children

Calling his Mecklenburg County, N.C. home a microcosm of America, Commissioner George Dunlap started his term as NACo president at the 2026 Annual Conference in Orleans Parish, La. by recounting the homework he’d done to represent all of America’s 3,069 counties. 

He visited counties, learned about public lands issues and participated in fly-ins and peer exchanges that broadened his horizons beyond the Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee, which he previously chaired.

“I know firsthand that from our largest county to our smallest places, each carries priorities that others may not. And yet, all counties deserve a champion, a voice,” he said Monday at the Annual Business Meeting.

“I’m listening, and I’ve advocated alongside you for your cherished priorities,” he said, before listing some of those priorities: “Testifying before Congress on the importance of federal disaster aid, pounding the halls of Congress touting the importance of PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes) and SRS (Secure Rural Schools) for public lands counties, urging the White House to reform federal behavioral health policy and sharing county innovations in public health, housing and infrastructure and broadband.”

Informed by his work as a Charlotte, N.C. police officer and years on the county school board, Dunlap’s presidency will focus on improving conditions for young people — Building Better Futures. The Youth Housing and Homelessness Task Force, led by Los Angeles County, Calif. Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Warren County, Ohio Commissioner Shannon Jones will tackle housing insecurity.

“Building a better future is about getting ahead of these problems, not just reacting to [them],” he said. “I’ve seen what’s at stake when we get it right, and I see what it costs when we don’t.”

Dunlap called on every county to pass a resolution to review its investments in young people and take at least one concrete action to improve the lives of young people. 

“Let me be clear about one thing, government is not the whole answer. It never has been — it takes a community: parents, teachers, coaches, churches and neighbors,” he said. “All of us, pulling in the same direction.”

Joining Dunlap on the executive committee to pull counties in the same direction, Wayne County, Mich. Commissioner Alisha Bell became first vice president and Wise County, Texas Judge J.D. Clark became the immediate past president. NACo members elected Coconino County, Ariz. Treasurer Sarah Benatar second vice president over Kendall County, Ill. Clerk Matthew Prochaska and Loudoun County, Va. Supervisor Michael Turner, becoming the first NACo officer occupying a row office in their county since 1935-1938, shortly after Milwaukee County, Wis. Clerk George Breitbach formed the National County Officers Association, the precursor to NACo.

Hillsborough County, N.H. Commissioner Toni Pappas and Marathon County, Wis. Supervisor Kurt Gibbs were each reelected representatives of the Northeast and Central regions, rounding out the executive committee with South Region representative Ron Berry, a Roane County, Tenn. commissioner and Bill Novotny, a Johnson County, Wyo. commissioner.