Kevin Hines, the newly elected chair of the Republican-dominated Orange County Legislature, has moved to reintroduce bipartisanship in top committee positions.
Hines, a Republican, named Democrats Laurie Tautel and Genesis Ramos as chairs of the Health and Mental Health Committee and Human Services Committee, respectively. Both lawmakers presided over their first meetings in late January.
Over the past decade, statutory committee chairs had almost always been Republicans, except for two years under former Republican Chair Steve Brescia when Democrat Michael Paduch was tapped to lead the Personnel and Compensation Committee, according to county records.
“That is a big, bold move by Chairman Hines, and I think it is very foresight of him to look at the qualifications of individuals instead of party lines,” Tautel told The Epoch Times….