Go Dane County Board Women! It’s About Time!

They hold half the leadership positions for the first time ever!

Dane County Board Achieves Gender Parity
50% of Dane County Board Committee Leaders are Women

The Dane County Board of Supervisors has selected new committee chairs. For the first time in Dane County history, half of the county board’s committee chairs are women. Dane County is only the second county board in Wisconsin to reach gender equality within leadership.

“We are incredibly proud to achieve gender parity within county board leadership, and we are honored to have been selected for leadership by our colleagues,” said Supervisors Sharon Corrigan, Melissa Sargent, Robin Schmidt, and Carousel Bayrd, in a joint statement. “It’s about time,” Supervisor Bayrd added.

In addition to committee chairs, the county board also selected a new second vice chair for the county board. All leadership positions are for two-year terms.

The following County Board supervisors were elected into committee and county board leadership positions:

Supervisor Sharon Corrigan of Middleton was elected to chair the Personnel and Finance committee. This committee oversees the county finances and annual budget process, as well as all hiring, contracts, and union negotiations.

Supervisor Melissa Sargent of Madison was elected to chair the Health and Human Needs (HHN) committee. HHN oversees the county’s largest department, the department of human services, and hundreds of social service programs serving youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, families, veterans, and more.

Supervisor Robin Schmidt of Monona was elected chair of the Public Works and Transportation committee, overseeing the bidding and contracting of all public works projects and highway projects, solid waste and recycling programs, and all county transportation polices.

Supervisor Carousel Bayrd of Madison was elected Second Vice Chair of the board to assume all duties of county board chair when Chair Scott McDonell and First Vice Chair John Hendrick are unavailable. Second Vice Chair also coordinates communications for the county board.

Supervisor Patrick Downing of the Town of Perry was elected chair of the Environment, Agriculture & Natural Resources (EANR) committee. EANR oversees county parkland, waterways, recreational and open areas, including the conservation of the county’s natural resources.

Supervisor Patrick Miles of McFarland was re-elected chair of Zoning and Land Regulation, overseeing the planning and development of rural Dane County and working with local town boards to approve land use changes for county property owners.

Supervisor Paul Rusk of Madison was re-elected chair the Public Protection and Judiciary committee, which oversees the criminal justice system and public safety programs including the 911 center, the sheriff’s department, the courthouse, and the jail.