Orange County Commissioner Alice Gordon retires after 24 years of public service

She hasn’t run her own lab in years, but not even time can keep Alice Gordon from her roots as a researcher.

During her tenure on the Orange County Board of Commissioners, Gordon was recognized for her dedication to her own issues, like environmental protection and education, and for her ability to take all her available resources and put them to their best use, like a true researcher.

“I always analyzed all the data,” Gordon said. “I tried to always find a way to use our resources to the maximum effect, but I’ve always done that. I am a researcher after all.”

After 24 years of public service, Gordon is retiring from the Board, effective Monday.

Board Chairman Barry Jacobs said Gordon’s meticulous nature is what she will be most remembered for after she departs the Board.

“I think her legacy will be working on schools, transportation and environmental issues,” Jacobs said. “It will be on paying attention to minute details.”

“She’s a good-hearted person who works very hard, and she’s been very consistent in what she wants to accomplish.”

A champion of the environment and education, Gordon said she looks back on her time as a commissioner and feels satisfied.

“I had goals that I set my sights on 24 years ago, and now I think they have either been completed or are in the process of coming to fruition,” Gordon said. “I thought about what I was passionate about and what I was able to accomplish and thought, I have done all I can do.”

From the expansion of local schools and a county conservation program to an award-winning transportation plan, Gordon leaves behind a lasting legacy on Orange County.

But Gordon’s imminent retirement is not stopping her from celebrating her last major victory — the new science wing at Culbreth Middle School.

“I had been advocating for a long time, about ten years, to renovate the older schools, but there was never really the money or resources in plan but now most school systems are on board with that,” Gordon said.

“The ribbon cutting is Dec. 11, and it’s going to be an example of what you can do when you tackle the renovations of older schools.”

Fellow Commissioner Penny Rich said the new science wing will be a major part of Gordon’s legacy.

“She had been working on that for years to bring that school up to the level of other schools in Orange County,” Rich said. “She started that when she got here and we just broke ground on that last year, so that will really be her legacy.”

Gordon said the waiting game that comes with government procedures has been the most frustrating part of her tenure in public service.

“The biggest thing you have to remember is that it takes a long time to do anything, and you have to be very patient,” Gordon said. “You have to wait until the time is right. So I think my biggest frustration was always the pace of progress.”

She said her passion for the issues she fought for helped her ignore the wait time and instead focus on the big picture, like the Lands Legacy Program, which won the Excellence in County Planning Award from the National Association of County Planners.

“I proposed a land acquisition program, which turned out to be the first comprehensive county land acquisition program in North Carolina,” Gordon said. “We have managed to protect more than 3,000 acres of the land’s natural and cultural resources. It was established in 2000 and has been a great success.”

Gordon said the conservation program will be one of her biggest accomplishments, and one she hopes the future commissioners continue to strengthen.

As far as her own future is concerned, Gordon is not yet ready to give up fighting for education and the environment in Orange County, but she has yet to determine what role she hopes to take on next.

“I plan on being an active part of the community, but I haven’t decided yet what that new role will be and what I will pursue,” Gordon said. “It will probably be in one of my main interests.”

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