• By Todd Luck
• Posted Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Tonya McDaniel sworn in as Forsyth County commissioner

Tonya McDaniel became the newest member of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners as she took her oath at an organizational meeting held at the Forsyth County Government Center on Dec. 3.

“I’m the new commissioner that’s elected for the people to provide equity in terms of funding for this county, and I appreciate us truly being able to do this together,” McDaniel told attendees.

McDaniel is a Winston-Salem native who won in this year’s election. She assumed the District A seat that has been occupied by Everette Witherspoon. McDaniel is the Human Resources director of United Health Centers and is second vice chair of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the NAACP. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Winston-Salem State University and a Master in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University. She’s a mother of three and has two grandchildren.

Also during the meeting, re-elected Commissioners Don Martin and Ted Kaplan took their oaths as did Fleming El-Amin, who won his first election after being appointed to fill the seat held by the late Walter Marshall last year. Re-elected Forsyth County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors Toby Bost, Wendell Schollander, III and Elizabeth Tucker also took their oaths. Oaths were administered by District Court Judge Denise Hartsfield and Superior Court Judge Richard Gottlieb.

Dave Plyler was re-elected by his fellow commissioners as chair of the commissioners board and Don Martin was re-elected as vice chair. Plyler used the meeting to briefly reflect on what the commissioners had accomplished in 2018. This included providing incentives for five companies that committed to create 836 new jobs in the county, restoring curbside recycling subscription service to unincorporated areas of the county, reorganizing the Smith Reynolds Airport as a county department, passing a fiscally responsible budget with no tax increase, and consolidating Public Health and Social Services under one board to improve their efficiency.

“I think the citizens that we serve hold to all of us a very high standard,” said Plyler.

More photos from the meeting can be found on the county's Facebook page.