Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m.
CLINTON—Anderson County Commissioner Robin Biloski is resigning August 3 because she and her husband Bill are moving to Madeira Beach, Florida.
First elected in 2006, Biloski has served two four-year terms on County Commission. Re-elected for a second time in August 2014, she is now in her ninth year and represents District 8, which includes Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, and Woodland in Oak Ridge.
Biloski was the only woman on County Commission for eight years, and she served as vice chair for three years and also chaired the Operations Committee.
She has also served for six years on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission.
Bill Biloski is a former chair of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. He retired from UT-Battelle and Bechtel Jacobs at the end of January, and he was re-industrialization manager at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.
Madeira Beach is in the St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay area on the west coast of Florida. The Biloskis will be closer to their son Brian, his wife, one grandchild, and another on the way in Jacksonville, Florida, where Brian works for CSX. Plus, Bill Biloski said, there is golfing and fishing.
Robin Biloski offered thanks and praise to other county officials, including county commissioners, and her family. She started by thanking the other District 8 commissioner, Myron Iwanski, for his friendship and for being a steady mentor. Other commissioners have told her that no two district officials work together as well as she and Iwanski do, Biloski said.
She sometimes joked that she and Iwanski form the Polish delegation on the 16-member Anderson County Commission.
“We enjoyed being your Polish diversity,” she said in a resignation letter read at the end of an Anderson County Commission meeting on Monday before giving Iwanski, who is from Wisconsin, a “cheesehead” like those worn at Green Bay Packers games—a token of her appreciation for their friendship.
“His support gave me encouragement to volunteer as your vice chair,” Biloski told commissioners.
The steps to fill Biloski’s seat after August 3 weren’t immediately clear on Monday night, although County Commission has previously appointed new commissioners to fill vacancies on Commission until a new member could be elected.
There were three candidates for the two District 8 seats in August 2014. Besides Biloski and Iwanski, the other candidate was Myra Mansfield.
Biloski said her service as the only woman on County Commission gave her an opportunity to form unique relationships with other commissioners.
“You were always respectful and made me welcome in what could have been an uncomfortable situation,” she said. “Not speaking as a feminist per se, I think it is very important that my replacement continue to be a woman, as we do think differently and lend ideas and insights that are often different.”
In other experience, Biloski was the first-time Oak Ridge chairman of Anderson County Fire Commission. She was elected in a city-wide race to the Oak Ridge Charter Commission in 2003. She is a past president of the League of Women Voters and has been a member of a number of groups, including East Tennessee Economic Council, Shelter Animals Rescue Group, Humane Society of Oak Ridge, Clinton Civitan, and Elks Lodge of Oak Ridge, and she has served on the boards of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, Keep Anderson County Beautiful, and Emory Valley Center Foundation.
Biloski was the first development director at Emory Valley Center in Oak Ridge.
The Biloski’s daughter Lauren will remain in Oak Ridge, where she has a law practice. A second daughter, Allison, is a special education teacher in Memphis.
Robin Biloski said other women have served on Anderson County Commission, including Jackie Holloway, Kathy Moore, and Anita Vines.
She said she and Bill may move to Florida soon. They already have a home lined up. They’ve lived in Oak Ridge for 19 years.
At the end of her announcement on Monday, Biloski also thanked her constituents in District 8 “who believed I could be their voice and carry their desires for good government.
“As I leave, I hope the people of Anderson County know I always tried my best as a county commissioner,” Biloski said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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Mark Caldwell says
Thank you Robin.
Jeannie Parker says
You will be sorely missed Robin. You have been a fabulous commissioner. Happy trails during your retirement!
Kay Williamson says
Oak Ridge & Anderson County residents are losing a great family! Thank you all for all your service to the communities. You will be missed by many!