Phyllis Portie-Ascott Appointed to Orange County BOCC

Orange County N.C. – Phyllis Portie-Ascott was announced to the Orange County Board of Commissioners, filling in the vacancy created by former commissioner Renee Price’s election to the N.C. House of Representatives.

Portie-Ascott’s appointment was announced at a Feb. 6 Orange County organizational meeting. She was selected unanimously by the board among four candidates. The other candidates were Horace Johnson, Brenda Stephens, and Natalie Ziemba.

She will fill the remaining two years of Price’s term, after being sworn in on Feb. 16. She will begin serving from then through the end of November 2024.

“I look forward to working collaboratively with you to create an Orange County that all of our residents can love because they can raise their families, live in their homes, find work in their community, and, if needed, access services,” Portie-Ascott said in her appointment speech.

Phyllis Portie-Ascott grew up in a tobacco-farming family in Bertie County. She has been active in the Orange County Democratic Party and the Northern Orange NAACP.

She received her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work in 1987 from East Carolina University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University in 1993.

Since 2007, Portie-Ascott has been working as a real estate broker. Her first political office experience is to serve on the Orange County Public Schools Equity Task Force.

“I am looking forward to collaborating with my fellow commissioners to address the affordable housing crisis and to talk through what else we can to do address the behavioral health concerns our community is facing,” she said.

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