Sonoma County’s James Gore takes the lead at NACo

Key Takeaways

Surrounded by his family, Sonoma County, Calif. Supervisor James Gore was sworn in July 15 as NACo’s new president at the association’s Annual Business Meeting at the Tampa Convention Center in Hillsborough County, Fla. 

The California native leads the NACo executive committee, which includes First Vice President Judge J.D. Clark of Wise County, Texas; Second Vice President Commissioner George Dunlap of Mecklenburg County, N.C. and Immediate Past President Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire of Ramsey County, Minn. 

Dunlap was elected in a three-way race, getting 67% of the vote or 1,658 votes with Charlotte County, Fla. Commissioner Bill Truex garnering 20% or 488 votes and Cascade County, Mont. Commissioner Joe Briggs taking 13% or 326 votes.

Rounding out the executive committee are regional representatives Tammy Tincher of Greenbrier County, W.Va., who takes over as the new Northeast Region representative and Supervisor Kurt Gibbs of Marathon County, Wis., as the new Central Region representative. They round out the regional representation which includes Briggs as the West Region representative and Commissioner Ron Berry of Roane County, Tenn., as the Southern Region representative.

Family: A running theme in Gore narrative

Gore was sworn in by his daughter Opal as his wife Elizabeth, son Jacob and other family members looked on. 

“How about those kids?” he said as he took the microphone before about 3,000 county officials from across the country. “As we walked in here this morning, I looked at my kids, Opal and Jacob, and said, ‘You know how there’s all kinds of problems in the world, right? Well, you see all those people? They are the ones fixing things. These are the ones fighting for us…all of us.”

“They are the ones delivering results,” Gore said. “And kids, the only real results in this world come from imperfect, relentless progress. There is no progress that is perfect.” 

‘We the counties…’

Several times during his speech, Gore made a point to include everyone in the audience. In fact, “we” was not only a running theme in his speech but it’s the theme of his upcoming year as NACo president: “We the counties, we the leaders and we the future.” The theme leads up to next year’s Annual Conference in Philadelphia, as preparations get underway for a celebration of the country’s 250th birthday. 

At times during his address, Gore sounded like a Sunday preacher delivering a sermon to his flock. “Like you, I step boldly into the chaos of local public service, each and every day, for one reason,” he said. “Because I refuse to subject my kids to a pessimistic future. I refuse to subject my kids, your kids, and all of the kids out there to a fatalistic tomorrow. 

“How about you? Are you with me? Raise your hands if you’re with me. And now, give a high five to the person sitting next to you and thank them for working with you, imperfectly, relentlessly, in those trenches of democracy. 

“In church, we call this passing of the peace. Today, we’ll call it the passing of the purpose.”

‘Embrace the mess’

Gore gave a nod to some of the divisions roiling the country. “Because even though it’s one of the hardest things to do, living with gratitude, and embracing grace, is the only way to rise above, and not succumb, to the angst, the dismay, and the anxiety that threatens our democracy,” he noted.

“Those words. Angst. Dismay. Anxiety. They speak to a general, almost universal sense of unease that surrounds us these days,” he said. “You all know what I’m talking about. This malaise. Yucky. Fearful. Angry. ‘Not happy with the now.’ And not confident in the future. We serve our communities as public leaders through disruptive times: Climate extremes, natural disasters, societal clashes. 

“Neck deep in the midst of a disruptive digital revolution, sometimes called the Third Industrial Revolution, where technology and Artificial Intelligence fly ahead of us so fast, we can’t seem to keep up. 

“We have an economy that is upside down, with more than 70% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. 

“Sounds nasty, doesn’t it? So why would I stand here before you all and give voice to this malaise…this mess? Because the only way through the storm is through the damn storm. The only way through the mess is to embrace the mess.”

Leading with courage

“And to do that, we have to lead with courage,” he said. “The courage to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. The courage to be disliked for doing that.

“But also, what about a different kind of courage? How about, the courage to laugh in the face of the storm? To smile and find camaraderie and shared purpose and dare I say it, joy? Joy within the mess?

“Isn’t that what we’re doing here?  Isn’t that why we’re all here, with NACo, at this conference? Sure, we’re here to share best practices,” he said. “To learn from each other, and leverage solutions. Sure, we’re here to advocate for federal policies that help us improve our communities, absolutely. 

“But also, aren’t we here to embrace that ‘Get Stuff Done’ attitude, together, as members of the middle?” he asked. “No, I am not talking about the political middle, I am talking about the radical, practical, passionate middle. Where real life happens.”

‘We’re the ones we’ve been waiting for’

“And you know what? We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We. Just like the founding of our country, it started with, ‘We the People. We the Counties. We the Leaders. We the Future.’”

“And as we embark on our work this year, as we march toward our 250-year anniversary, we will deploy our resources to investigate, study and highlight the best of the best, bubbling up from our counties. From the ground up. 

“We are going to drive our organization, our message toward this marker. Because even though it’s a huge moment for our country, it’s also just another day in business, for us at the local level. We have delivered, we do deliver, and we will continue to deliver, relentlessly for our communities.”

Staff Writer Meredith Moran contributed to this report. See full coverage of the NACo Annual Conference in the Aug. 12 issue of County News.