Freeman promises to 'get it right'

When Dee Freeman announced his retirement as executive director of Triangle J Council regional planning organization last May, he said he wanted to pursue public policy on the state level.

On Tuesday, Freeman was named a Cabinet secretary for the department charged with protecting the state's land, water and air quality.

"We are talking about the legacy of our children and grandchildren," Freeman said about his new job Tuesday. "We have to get it right."

Freeman brings the perspective of a town manager who has operated water and sewage treatment plants and an administrator of regional planning who has worked on issues such as protecting Jordan Lake.

"He understands the challenges of balancing economic issues with protecting North Carolina's very precious environment," Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue said in introducing Freeman.

Ellis Hankins, executive director of the N.C. League of Municipalities, recommended Freeman to the Perdue transition team. Freeman had served for 27 years as a town manager, including stints in Shelby and Brevard.

A native of Lenoir, Freeman relocated to the Triangle in 2000 when he was getting ready to marry Emily Reynolds, longtime legislative assistant to state House Speaker Joe Hackney.

Barry Jacobs, an Orange County commissioner and chairman of Triangle J, said Freeman had been a centrist.

"Part of his job at Triangle J is to bridge differences and keep it constructive and amicable," Jacobs said.

Environmental groups had advocated the appointment of someone with established environmental credentials.

Freeman wore a green tie to his introduction, but he isn't well-known among environmentalists.

"We look forward to working with him," said Molly Diggins, director of the North Carolina chapter of the Sierra Club.