Meet Angie Basiouny

New Castle County government’s Angie Basiouny has shifted from journalism into politics. The Community News chatted with the communications director to gain insight concerning her new career.

Q) What inspired you to join the New Castle County government ?

A) I wanted to make a change in my career and this opportunity came up.  I thought it was a good fit for me.

Q) How did you make the transition from journalism to the county?

A) I was a reporter for The News Journal. I covered the New Castle County government for five years.  I was very familiar with the issues, as a people. [County Executive] Chris Coons thought my coverage was fair and valid and, because of that, he approached me and asked if I would like to become his communications director. I jumped at the chance and thought it was a great opportunity, because I was interested in leaving journalism. There were changes that were going on in my industry, particularly the contraction of my industry. I had been watching a lot of my colleagues getting laid off, all around the country, and I was concerned for my future employment in journalism. I wanted to be able to transition into something that relied on my experience as a journalist, and my political science degree.

Q) Explain your responsibilities as communications director?

A) I’m the communications director for the county executive and I’m responsible for external

communication. Basically I’m responsible for dealing with the media, which has been great, and I am part of the executive team. This means I work in the executive office, I work directly for Chris, and I get to be apart of policy making.

Q) How has New Castle County government opened itself up to the community?

A) We try to keep an open communication with the public. Since I’ve become a communications director, we tried some new initiatives as well. We’ve become a little bit more active with social media because we recognized that mainstream media isn’t the only method of mass communication anymore. We do a lot of direct, one-on-one, work with constituency.

Q) What projects are you looking forward to?

A) I’ve been with the county, now, for about seven months and I really enjoy the challenge of this job. I like all the different aspects of it. I like dealing with the media, the public and the different departments and being apart of the policy-making here. It’s been a great learning experience for me as well. I don’t think there’s a particular project that I could say I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to all of it as it comes, everyday is a chance for me to learn something new and I love it.

Q) What has been most rewarding about joining the county?

A) Working with so many people who truly want to make a difference in their community.  That’s very important to me.

Q) How would someone in the community change a policy that they disagreed with?

A) For somebody to effect change, they have to start with their elected official. Usually people communicate with their elected official, their councilperson, or with the county executive.  They come to us with their concerns, and their questions, and they can appeal to their legislator to try to make change in the law on their behalf. I’ve seen that in my career as a journalist, covering government, over and over again. This government is no exception and that is what your elected officials are here for.

Q) Before entering this year, what was the county’s main goal?  

A) I don’t think it’s been any different. The biggest challenge this government has faced in the last five or six years has been its budget, like many governments across the country that suffered the effects of a devastating recession. Our government has limited sources of revenue…The biggest thing for this government has been to get its budget under control, and make great progress. I think that we’re doing that.

Q) Describe some of the policies that take precedence over others?

A) Right now, I think anyone studying this government can see that the people leading this government craft their policies around good financial stewardship, good environmental stewardship, and doing things that benefit the community in the long term. That touches on all the different things this government does. The county executive has spent a great deal of time working on policies that help people where they are, in particular with housing issues.