A message from Brenda Howerton: I am your Commissioner, the People’s Commissioner:
“Serving as your Commissioner for the last 15 years has been an honor of a lifetime. I came to Durham 37 years ago for new economic opportunities and a safe place to raise my family. My struggles and experiences led me to run for public office and have shaped my daily work. My feeling of helplessness has motivated me to work to create a more fair and equitable community and help find solutions for Durham’s complex issues like affordable housing, public transit, gun violence, job training and development, and education disparities. I have made much progress in the last 15 years, but am not ready to stop. I request your support for my re-election campaign to continue building a more inclusive Durham County.”
Commissioner, Durham County – 2008 to Present
- Chair of Board of County Commissioners
- Chair of Go Triangle Board of Trustees
- Duke Regional Health Board
- Duke Health Chancellor’s Community Health Advisory Board
- Vice-Chair county commissioner- 2012- to 2016
- Chair-Joint City/County Planning Committee
- Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees
- Transportation Advisory Committee
- Audit Oversight Committee
- Criminal Justice Advisory Committee
- Juvenile Crime Prevention Council
- Public Health Board
- Durham Crime Cabinet
- Museum of Life and Science
- Lincoln Community Health
- Founding Member of Counties for Guaranteed Income
State Committees
- North Carolina Association of Counties -President
- Human Relations Award of the Year 2014
- THRIVE, Task Force, 100 Counties, helping Our Children Thrive”
- Social service Regional Supervision and Collaboration Work Group
- Emerging Issues Forum, “kidonomic: Investing Early in Our Future”
- North Carolina Association of Counties Criminal Justice Committee
National Committees
- National Association of Counties Board of Directors
- Chair or Healthy Counties Advisory Board
- Chair Workforce Development Sub- Committee
- Large Urban County Caucus
- Membership Committee
- National Environmental Government Advisory Committee
Community Involvement
- League of Women Voters of Orange, Durham and Chatham counties
- Downtown Durham Rotary Club
- Duke Campus club
- Union Baptist Church
- Durham Charms
