WS Chronicle

In the battle for the two seats up for grabs in District A on the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, incumbent Fleming El-Amin and Tonya McDaniel came away with the victories over Tony Burton and incumbent Everette Witherspoon.

McDaniel, a city native and graduate of Winston-Salem State University, was the top vote getter in the closely contested race.

The director of human resources at United Health Centers, McDaniel is also the second vice president of the Winston-Salem NAACP chapter.

Although she is considered a newcomer to the political stage, in 2012 McDaniel served as Earline Parmon’s campaign manager and credits Parmon for showing her the ropes. McDaniel said she decided to run because District A needed a “vision for constituency.” She said while attending the Women’s March on the Polls earlier this year, she decided enough was enough and made the decision to run.

In a post on her official Facebook page where she is discussing her reasons for running McDaniel wrote, “It takes a lot of courage, strength, and tenacity to run in an all-minority male dominated race for Forsyth County Commissioner in District A. I am Fearless.” She also wrote on Facebook: “Thank you all for everyone who has supported our campaign and voted. Your voice matters and it got us to the prize! We have much work to do!”

Incumbent candidate Fleming El-Amin was first appointed to the County Board of Commissioners in 2017 following the death of Walter Marshall. A retired teacher and former Democratic Party chairman, El-Amin serves on several boards in the county, including the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, Transportation Advisory Council, and the Piedmont Regional Economic Council, to name a few.

As a member of the Board of Commissioners over the past year, El-Amin “fought for the little man.” He worked to increase contracting opportunities for small businesses, insured programs to support middle and low-income communities, and worked to strengthen education opportunities and reduce crime.

El-Amin also lists the renaming of the Social Services building in honor of Marshall among his accomplishments.

In his first time running for office, El-Amin received over 25 percent of all the votes tallied.

When discussing the success of his campaign on Tuesday night, El-Amin said he was honored to serve the residents of District A. He said, “I am very honored to be able to represent District A for a full four-year term and I am very appreciative for the voters in District A for extending their trust in me.”

Over the next four years, El-Amin said, some points of emphasis for him will be taking a closer look at how properties are accessed in District A, increasing economic opportunities for residents and improving education.