On the day America’s first black president took the oath of office, Wilmington’s Velda Jones-Potter was sworn in as state treasurer, the first African-American to hold statewide elective office in Delaware.
Jones-Potter, appointed by Gov. Jack Markell to the post he vacated to become governor, was sworn in Tuesday morning at a small private ceremony at the Hagley Museum.
“I selected the Hagley site, the location where the DuPont Company got its start, in respect for the start the company gave me,” said Jones-Potter, describing her rise through DuPont’s ranks to Strategic Planning Executive.
While at DuPont Jones-Potter, as an executive-on-loan, also served as city of Wilmington Director of Finance, where she helped eliminate the city’s operating deficit.
“I am privileged by Governor-elect Markell’s appointment to, once again, serve the citizens,” she said. “In the present economic environment I am highly motivated to work hand-in-glove with the new governor to bring Delaware on to firm financial footing.”
Jones-Potter graduated from the University of Delaware as the first African-American in the school’s history with an engineering degree, then went onto receive her master’s in Business Administration and Finance from Indiana University.
She is the wife of Wilmington City Councilman Charles Potter Jr. and is the mother of two college age sons.
