Montco Names Jamila Winder New Chair, Touts 'Collaborative' Future

NORRISTOWN, PA — It's a changing of the guard in Montgomery County, as Jamila Winder was named the new chair of the Board of Commissioners in the body's first meeting of the new year.

The move is simply one of reorganization, as the previous chair, Neil Makhija, remains on the board along with Tom DiBello. Winder previously held the leadership role in 2024 before Makhija took over in 2025.

Winder said she hoped the body would continue its collaborative and bipartisan efforts in the new year, pointing to the success of the recent county budget negotiations. The 2026 budget marks the first bipartisan budget agreement in a decade.

Related: Montco Passes First Bipartisan Budget In Nearly A Decade

“We have continued to demonstrate to Montgomery County what effective and collaborative leadership should look like," Winder said this week.

Republican DiBello added that his goals and the goals of Democrats Winder and Makhija were "closely aligned."

"From day one, we've been committed to working together to make Montgomery County the best place it can be," DiBello said. "With Commissioner Winder returning as Chair, we'll continue to put politics aside to address the County's most pressing challenges and opportunities."

Following her formal election to chair, Winder said that priorities for 2026 including housing insecurity, mental health needs, governmental efficiency, and the rising cost of living.

In an increasingly divisive age, the new board has distinguished itself with its relative lack of vitriol and political scheming, at least in public. The previous board was marred by a deep divide between Republican Joe Gale and Democrats Ken Lawrence and Val Arkoosh, one which mirrored the fraught national landscape.

Democrats, of course, maintain and majority and probably will into the foreseeable future, given how heavily blue Montgomery County is. They have significant control over policy direction. It's not DiBello's ideal situation, but in the case of the 2026 budget, it seems to represent a place all three can agree to work from.

"I’m not happy with where we are at today, but it is a work in progress,” DiBello said when the budget was passed last month. “As commissioner, my focus is on ensuring Montgomery County is stable and fiscally responsible. We are a $1.2 billion operation here and we worked very hard to reduce the deficit by $30 million this year. We’re in a position where we’ve done as much as we can do for 2026. Now we’re focused on getting even better for 2027.”