The Democratic Party of Carbon County gathered on July 10 at the Democratic Information Center, Lehighton, for the purposes of electing new officers.

Outgoing Chair Billy O’Gurek Jr. chaired the meeting where local Democrats unanimously elected Tina Smith-Henninger as chair and Nathan Halenar as vice chair.

Smith-Henninger, an Aquashicola resident, is a small-business owner and local committee person and has been campaign manager for a past state legislative race.

Halenar is a public school teacher and is active in many local civic organizations as well as being elected on the Democratic and Republican tickets for Summit Hill tax collector this past May.

O’Gurek, chair since 2010, thanked the committee for support during his 11 years leading the committee, saying, “It has been one of my greatest honors to serve as the chair of the Democratic Party of Carbon County. In 11 years we’ve had ups and downs but the friendships made will last forever. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to end up as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention supporting President Barack Obama’s re-election or representing the 11 northeast Pennsylvania counties as Caucus Chair.

“Going forward I plan on helping Chair Smith-Henninger and Vice Chair Halenar however I can by remaining an active member of our party.”

Smith-Henniger commented on her election, saying, “I look forward to working with both current and former board members to continue to grow our party on the strong base that Billy has built. I will be reaching out to all our committee people and elected officials from our local school boards to our countywide offices to ask for their input and make use of our broad base of talent in Carbon County. We have a wonderful mix of experienced veterans, up and coming stars and folks just starting to become interested in the political process and civic engagement. I fully expect you will be hearing and seeing a lot from our party over the next few years.”

The Democratic Party of Carbon County will reconvene Aug. 5 with its annual Summer Picnic at Jim Thorpe’s Memorial Park. Picnic will run from 6-8 p.m. Tickets are available from any committee member. Guests will include Maria McLaughlin, candidate for state Supreme Court, as well as potential 2022 U.S. Senate candidates.