November 23, 2022 – Newly elected Commissioner Leann Pennington, District 4, and twice elected Commissioner Greg Hansen, District 2, were sworn into office by County Judge Melissa Distler.

“This is a big day for us,” Hansen said before taking the Oath of Office.

Commissioner Andy Dance nominated Hansen to chair the Board of County Commissioners. He was elected unanimously. Commissioner Donald O’Brien then nominated Dance to serve as vice chair, and he too was elected unanimously.

At the conclusion of the official business of the special meeting, O’Brien spoke of the dignity of peaceful transfer of power as the greatest feature of American government.

“I want to welcome Commissioner Pennington to the commission,” O’Brien said. “I look forward to learning your perspective on things and having some good, healthy debate.”

Hansen congratulated Dance and asked for his comments.

“On the heels of Commissioner O’Brien, I’m looking forward to what this Commission can achieve moving forward,” Dance said. “I’m extremely excited.”

Commissioner Dave Sullivan then took his turn congratulating Pennington, Hansen, and Dance.

“Mr. Dance and myself, we were on the canvassing board for the last 28 meetings, finishing up today, and I want to assure everybody that it was an absolutely great election,” Sullivan said. “It’s an important job we do every two years and all the numbers balanced.”

Pennington then made her first comments as an elected commissioner.

“First of all, I want to congratulate the Chair and the Vice Chair,” Pennington said. “I want to thank all of my friends, family, and supporters for coming out today. I look forward to working with you gentlemen and working for the residents of Flagler County.”

Hansen closed out remarks.

“And I, too, want to thank everyone for coming out. I see a lot of friendly faces out there,” Hansen said. “We try our best to take care of our county…One of the most important things we do is the budget – to husband (use economically, conserve) our tax dollars and make sure we do it smart, and I guarantee you the five us will do that job.”