Julia Gouge is serving her fifth term as a Carroll County Commissioner (1986-1990, 1990-1994, 1998-2002, 2002-2006, and 2006-present). She has served as president of the Maryland Association of Counties, on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties (NACo), as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Local Government Insurance Trust, and as Mayor of Hampstead.

Nationally, Gouge is president of Women of NACo and a vice chair of the Environmental, Energy and Land Use Committee. She also serves as a member of the NACo Rural Action Caucus. Gouge is a past chair of both the Audit and Credential Committees, and has served on numerous task forces and committees: the Task Force on the Implementation of the National Crime Bill; the National School to Work Transition Committee; the National Employment and Welfare Reform Task Force; the National Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching; and the National Association of Counties Ethics Committee.

A member and past chairman of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council and the Board of Trustees for Carroll Community College, Gouge has served on the Maryland Association of Counties Legislative Committee for more than 10 years, including a term as Chairman in 1994.

Gouge also has an active career in the community, having served as Chair of the Republican Central Committee as well as President of Carroll County Republican Women's Club and the Carroll County Agricultural Center.

Gouge is a seventh-generation Carroll Countian, born and raised on the family farm in Snydersburg. She and her husband, Jesse, have been married for over 45 years. They have four children and nine grandchildren and are active members of Shiloh United Methodist Church.

Dean L. Minnich, is a former newspaper columnist, editor (including a stint as the metropolitan counties editor with the old Baltimore News American), and manager. He was first elected as Carroll County Commissioner in 2002 and is currently in his second term. He has published five books, including two novels and two collections of newspaper columns. One of his books, Towns and Villages of Carroll County, was published by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce in 1995.

Commissioner Minnich served as a photojournalist for the Navy and saw duty in Vietnam. He has a history of community service, including coaching recreation league teams and serving as both a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader. Mr. Minnich has served on the boards of directors of the Jaycees, YMCA, Junction (past president), Hospice, Lions Club, American Field Service (student cultural exchange) and others. He was a member of the board and then president of the Chamber of Commerce.

Michael Zimmer has been a practicing attorney in Carroll County since 1989. He has worked and held leadership roles in many service clubs, boards and committees in Carroll County. Mr. Zimmer is past president of the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce. He has been the government relations chair for both the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce and the South Carroll Business Association.

In December of 2003, Mr. Zimmer was selected to fill an opening on the Carroll County Republican Central Committee. On that committee, he moderated a public meeting of delegate applicants, organized numerous fundraisers, registered voters and briefly held the position of acting chairman of the committee.

In February 2004, Mr. Zimmer began writing opinion columns for the Mount Airy/Sykesville Gazettes. He moved his column to the Carroll County Times in December 2004, addressing government and politics at all levels. He also wrote on international affairs, cultural matters and current events.

His election as County Commissioner in the fall of 2006 marks his first role as an elected official.

Commissioner Zimmer has two liaison assignments. He is an ex officio member of the Carroll County Board of Education and the Baltimore Museum of Arts. In addition, he serves as the county's alternate to the Maryland Association of Counties' legislative committee.

Mr. Zimmer and his wife, Cherie, have lived in Carroll County since 1990. They and their two daughters reside in Eldersburg.