Jeanne Milliken Bonds was the first female Mayor of Knightdale, North Carolina. She was first appointed to the Town Council in 1994. She was elected Mayor Pro Tem in 1995, elected by the citizens in 1995 (top vote getter); re-elected in 1999 (top vote getter); and appointed Mayor in 2002 upon the election of Joe Bryan to the Wake County Board of Commissioners.[1]
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Bonds is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, born in 1962 (14 November). She graduated from John T. Hoggard High School in 1981. Bonds is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a degree in Economics and a graduate degree in Public Administration. She is an alumna of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority (See List of Kappa Alpha Theta sisters). She is married to Robert Alexander Bonds III, of Natchez, Mississippi, a graduate of the University of Mississippi and North Carolina State University (MBA). Robert Bonds' grandfather, Robert A. Bonds, Sr. served in the Mississippi House of Representatives and his grandmother, Annie Hastings Bonds, also served in the same House seat when her husband died. Robert A. Bonds, Jr. was a judge in Natchez.
While serving on the Knightdale Town Council, she was Deputy Director of the NC Administrative Office of the Courts, where she worked with NC Chief Justice Burley Mitchell. As Deputy Director of the state Administrative Office of the Courts and special assistant to Chief Justice Mitchell, Bonds was able to convince state lawmakers to increase funding to the judiciary for more personnel and technology.[2] She is also credited for her successful federal advocacy efforts as part of a multi-agency team that resulted in $30 million to NC for the Criminal Justice Information Network (CJIN).[3] Mitchell said, "Jeanne has my highest recommendation. Jeanne has done a truly extraordinary job representing the Courts [as Deputy Director] before the General Assembly. She has been able to convince the legislature to increase the funding substantially for the courts, both with regard to personnel and equipment ... I recognize that there are few truly outstanding people and they are always in great demand."[4]
She was the North Carolina recipient of the Henry Toll Fellowship in April 1997 and was nominated by Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Chief Justice Burley Mitchell . The fellowship is offered through the Council of State Governments to 40 emerging state leaders across the country each year. Bonds was chosen for serving in a statewide Courts leadership position and in a local elected position.[5][6]
During her tenure on the Council, Bonds was active on the Finance Committee, Public Works Committee, Nominating Committee and Transportation Advisory Committee, CAMPO. Bonds was elected by her peers to the North Carolina League of Municipalities Board of Directors and served on the Finance Committee; Vice Chair, Policy Committee; and the Nominating Committee. She served on the Triangle J Council of Governments, Board of Directors; the Wake County Growth Management Commission; the Board of United Arts Council of Wake County and, was the liaison to the Chamber of Commerce throughout her time on the Council. She is a member of the Junior League of Raleigh.[7] She created and led the first Economic Development Committee in Knightdale with another former Mayor, Billy Wilder, and they held an Economic Development Forum, "All Highways Lead to Knightdale." (See Raleigh News and Observer, December 23, 2003, "Panel Looking to Lure Jobs.") Bonds and Wilder also led an effort to assist Colerain, a small town in Northeastern North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel by sending public safety personnel and holding a fundraising event for relief efforts. (See Raleigh News and Observer, September 27, 2003, "Aid Came Like 'Angels Descending Upon Us'.") There was a ceremony for Bonds when she retired from her local government role.[8]
In the early 1990s, Bonds worked at the NC Rural Economic Development Center with Billy Ray Hall, President, and Gov. Robert W. Scott who had served on the Board of Directors and was serving as a Visiting Fellow.
Bonds has been a federal and state lobbyist; strategic communications and community relations professional; development professional; and economic developer for more than twenty years. She has also been a campaign adviser to candidates for office and has authored speeches for government officials and executives. She began lobbying Congress in 1985 at the age of 22 and was featured on the front page of USA Today in 1986 for her efforts on the 1986 Tax Reform Act on behalf of small oil and gas producers.
On January 9, 2009 Bob Geary suggested on the IndyWeekBlogs [9] that Mayor Bonds might be a possible appointee to the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 39, a vacancy created when Linda Coleman resigned for a role in the Perdue Administration). This was not the first time high-ranking Democrats have floated her name for a slot in the House.[10][11] Earlier, Senator Dan Blue floated her name for the office. She did not seek the appointment but her campaign committee and many State employees asked her to run in the May 2010 Primary Election.[12][13][14] Bonds, a former State employee, received the endorsement of the State Employees Association of NC [15] in March. Bonds lost the Primary Election.[16]
Bonds writes columns for several newspapers and appears on the popular NC Spin weekly public affairs TV program.[17][18]
| Preceded by Joe Bryan |
Mayor of Knightdale 2002– 2003 |
Succeeded by Doug Boyd |