Commissioner Gary Woronchak , D-Dearborn, has been elected chairman of the Wayne County Commission for the 2011-12 term.

Gary Woronchak

Woronchak was elected at the commission’s organizational meeting Tuesday, Jan. 4. He succeeds Edward Boike Jr., D-Taylor, who served as chair for the previous term and retired from the commission at the end of December. The 15-member commission elects its officers at the first meeting of each two-year term.

Also elected to leadership positions Tuesday were Commissioner Alisha Bell, D-Detroit, who will serve as vice chair, and Commissioner Laura Cox, R-Livonia, who was elected vice chair pro tem. The 15-member commission elects its officers at the first meeting of each two-year term.

As chairman, Woronchak will be responsible for the commission’s $9.4 million budget and its employees, as well as scheduling and running meetings and appointing members to standing committees and special task forces.

Woronchak, 55, is beginning his fourth term on the commission, representing Dearborn, Allen Park and Melvindale. Prior to being elected to the commission in 2004, he served three terms in the state House of Representatives. Before government service, he worked more than 20 years as a newspaper editor.