 For release: January 13, 2014
Contacts:
Mike Opat, Hennepin County board chairman, 612-348-7881
Maria Elena Baca, Hennepin County public information officer, 612-348-7865
News release
Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman has accepted a
position as executive director of St. Stephen’s Human Services, effective March
3. She has indicated she plans to leave her county post at the end of February.
The announcement follows Dorfman’s decision in November not
to run for reelection this fall for her 3rd District seat.
“I am thrilled for
Commissioner Dorfman,” said County Board Chairman Mike Opat. “She has been
passionate about addressing and preventing homelessness. At St. Stephen’s
she will lead an organization whose mission she is passionate about. It
is a great fit for her and St. Stephen’s will get an outstanding leader. We will miss her presence on our Board.”
Minnesota statutes govern the time and manner of replacing commissioners
who leave office during their term.
“We will consult
with Commissioner Dorfman about her exact plan to leave the County Board and
then determine whether a special election is necessary,” Opat said. "If so, we
will very clearly announce that fact and go on to fulfill our obligation to
hold a special election.”
The 3rd District includes the city of St. Louis Park, and most
of southwest Minneapolis.
In her 14 years on the County Board, Dorfman has championed projects
that help people who are vulnerable get connected to the services they need,
and build healthier communities. Those include regional transit, mental health,
affordable housing and safer communities. Her broad work to help people who are
homeless predates her interest in the St. Stephen’s position. That work
includes spearheading the county’s 10-year plan to end homelessness, Heading
Home Hennepin, along with the city of Minneapolis. More recently, Dorfman has
worked to bring attention to the plight of homeless and sexually exploited
youth.
Previous to her election to the board in 1999, Dorfman
served seven years as a council member, then mayor of the city of St. Louis
Park.
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
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