Lane County is excited to introduce Tommy Gong as the new Lane County Clerk. Gong, an experienced election administrator, started in his new role in July.
“We are so pleased to bring an experienced elections administrator and a passionate advocate for building public trust in elections to our community,” said Lane County Operations Director Lorren Blythe. “Elections are a cornerstone of our democracy, and we value the ability of all eligible voters to participate – Tommy holds the same value and we look forward to continuing to enhance our service to the community with his help.”
Gong was selected following a competitive national search. He succeeds Dena Dawson, who served as the County Clerk for three years and left Lane County to join the State of Oregon’s elections team. The County Clerk and his staff are responsible for conducting elections, recording real property, issuing marriage licenses and domestic partnership registrations, and coordinating the Property Values Appeal Board.
“I am honored to serve in beautiful Lane County and the great state of Oregon,” said Gong. “I am committed to upholding the accessibility, integrity, impartiality, and transparency of our elections for every voter in our county.”
Gong has served in election administration for 22 years. He previously served as an election administrator in California’s Contra Costa County, San Luis Obispo County, and Stanislaus County. He is also a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Task Force on Elections, a member of the Election Workforce Advisory Council, and on the Board of Directors for the California Voter Foundation.
Among his accomplishments, Gong led the effort to form the Coalition of Bay Area Election Officials for neighboring counties to join forces and collaborate on building public trust in elections in shared media markets. The Coalition earned the prestigious Democracy Award for best practice of 2022 by the National Association of Elections Officials – The Election Center.
In addition to earning his Bachelor of Arts at the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Business Administration at San Francisco State University, Gong was one of the first graduates of the California Professional Election Administrator Credential in 2005 and completed the national Certified Election Registration Administrator (CERA) program in 2021.
When not administering elections, he has been practicing and teaching martial arts for over 40 years. His instructor was a student of Bruce Lee, which led to his serving as a board director for the Bruce Lee Foundation.