WASHINGTON, DC – The Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) today elected Prince William County Supervisor Frank J. Principi as its Chairman for 2012.  The COG Board is made up of local and state elected officials from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia and is responsible for the regional body’s overall policy and funding decisions.

Principi was elected to his first term as Woodbridge Supervisor in November 2007 and, in addition to COG, he serves on a number of regional organizations, including the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), the Virginia Association of Counties (VACO) Community Development Committee, Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC), and the National Capitol Region’s Emergency Preparedness Council (EPC).

Prior to his election as Supervisor, Mr. Principi served as Chairman of the Prince William County Future Commission 2030. This experience prepares him well for one of his priorities as COG Chairman for 2012 – integrating the goals and targets of Region Forward, a planning guide for the metropolitan Washington region, into every aspect of the organization’s work.

Principi commended the outgoing COG Chairman, Prince George’s County Chairman Andrea Harrison on her leadership. “In my year as Chairman, we will continue to build on the work of the past year and keep our momentum going. We will continue to move the region forward,” Principi said.

COG also elected its 2012 Vice Chairs—Phil Mendelson and Karen Young. Mendelson, a previous COG Chairman and President, has served as an At-Large Councilmember for the District of Columbia since 1998. Young is serving her first term as Alderman for the City of Frederick and also serves as President Pro Tem of the Frederick Board of Aldermen.