FYI, here is what's come in to the Blog that relates to this office/rank.
   For recent questions sent in, check out Robert Hickey's Blog.
   For specific offices/ranks, check out Robert Hickey's On-Line Guide.

How to Address a State or County Commissioner?
        Need to know the following regarding the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries for my state: Is he The Honorable?
        -- Sherry @ Bellsouth

        How do you address County Commissioners?  Are they considered The Honorable Susan Mitchell, County Commissoner? or are they just Mr. or Ms.?
      -- CP

Dear Sherry & CP:
        First question to ask is the commissioner elected or appointed? An appointed official is not addressed as the Honorable.
       At the federal and state levels, officials elected in national and state-wide elections are addressed as the Honorable. At a town, city, or county level whether elected commissioners are or are not varies by local tradition. So if your county commissioner is elected, call his or her office to find out the local tradition. 
        If he or she is not addressed as the Honorable, the envelope and address block on the letter  would be:
                Commissioner (Full Name)
                   Department of Agriculture and Industries
                      Address
        Since he's THE Commissioner, in the salutation use the conversational form of address:
                Dear Commissioner (Surname)
        But this would also be formally correct:
                Dear Mr. (Surname)
        If it turns out your commission is elected and by local tradition is addressed as the Honorable, adapt the formulas shown for county council member .
                Dear Mr. (Surname)
        -- Robert Hickey

How to Address a Member of a City Commission?
        How would one address an appointed member of a city commission (in this case, a member of the city arts commission)?  Would he be The Honorable Wilson Harding or Commissioner Wilson Harding or just Mr. Wilson Harding?
        -- Mickey in Arlington

Dear Mickey:
        Appointed officials are not The Honorable unless they are very high, for example, someone appointed by the President of the United States (or your state's governor) and approved by the Senate.
        Mr. Commissioner or Commissioner (Name) are forms normally used by a singular official who is a commissioner ... someone with a THE in front of Commissioner ... such as the Commissioner of Baseball, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue, or the Commissioner for Patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office .... not someone serving as a member of a city commission.
        So most formally use Mr./Ms./Dr./etc.:
                Mr. Wilson Harding
                Arlington County Arts Commission
                3456 78th Street
                Arlington, Virginia 22201
       and in a salutation or in conversation use:
                Dear Mr. Harding,
       It is certainly possible that some people might call him Commissioner orally in conversation, but in writing a member of a commission Mr./Ms./Dr./whatever he or she is entitled to .... is formally correct.
         -- Robert Hickey

How to Address a Commissioner and His or Her Spouse?
    Please tell me how to address an invitation's envelope to our state's commissioner of taxation and finance and his spouse?
          -- Karen S. in Fort Pierce, Florida

Dear Karen:
    On pages 145-146 in my chapter on Joint Forms of Address I answer this question.
    You didn't say if this was a social or official invitation, you since are including his/her spouse I will assume it's a social.
    1) If the commissioner is elected in a general election ... he or she is addressed as "The Honorable"  If he is the honorable and you are inviting a couple, an invitation is social correspondence ... and the social form would be:
            The Honorable William Smith
                and Mrs. Smith
                   Address
     Men using the same last name as their spouse get their full name. Women don't .... so she is just Mrs. Smith and he is Mr. William Smith.   Not fair perhaps ... but that's the tradition.
    2) If he's an appointed commissioner ...appointed officials are not generally addressed as "The Honorable" -- but to be certain -- check with his/her office.  If he is not "the honorable ... then on a purely social invitation it would be:
            Mr. and Mrs. William Smith
                  Address
     On an official invitation to an event which he is attending as The Commissioner -- precedence comes into play. In that instance you would list him first and his wife second. He gets his whole name as a unit:
           Mr. William Smith
                and Mrs. Smith
                   Address
     Commissioners frequently prefer Commissioner (Name) as an honorific rather than Mr./Ms./Dr./etc. (Name), so using Commissioner (Name) on a invitation is another option -- and one that will be well received.
     -- Robert Hickey

How to Address An Appointed Court Commissioner?
       In my practice in Utah and California, court commissioners are hired by the judges and are thus court employees serving by contract or at the pleasure of the judges, and they do not go through the political process of nomination by the governor or approval by a branch of the state legislature, so they don’t have all of the powers of judges – the judges delegate some powers and decision-making authority to them.
       In court, the custom is to refer to commissioners as ‘Your Honor’ just as a judge, but my question is whether a commissioner is properly referred to as ‘the Honorable’ in correspondence and court orders.  Something tells me that since they’re a bit lower on the pecking order, they’re not.  I’d appreciate any insight you might have as an expert in the area.
       -- J.J.D. in Salt Lake City

Dear J.J.D.:
        If this type of commissioner is hired … neither appointed by the governor nor elected … I would not address them as The Honorable (full name).
        Regarding the practice of addressing an appointed commissioners while presiding in court as Your Honor …. there are many circumstances where a person is addressed in a way that is appropriate for the role they are fulfilling. Your honor is an oral form of direct address used in conversation with a presiding official. Both a presiding judge in court and the current mayor of a city may be addressed as Your Honor. Another second judge visiting a courtroom, or a former mayor, would not be so addressed. 
       -- Robert Hickey

Not Finding Your Question Answered?
Below are other topics covered in my blog and at right is a list of officials, Between the two I probably have what you are looking for.
     After hunting around a bit, if you don't see your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day (unless I am traveling.)
      If I think your question is of interest to others, I will post the question & answer – with your name and any personal specifics changed.
      -- Robert Hickey

USE OF NAMES & HONORIFICS   
Mr., Miss, Jr., III, & Names        
Married Women       
Deceased Persons         
People with Two Titles
Post-Nominal Abbreviations and Initials           
Couples: Joint Forms of Address    (How to address a couple?)   

USE OF SPECIFIC OFFICIAL TITLES        
Former Officials            
Professionals and Academics        

United States Federal Officials, Currently In Office             
United States State Officials, Currently In Office              
United States Municipal Officials, Currently In Office             
       All About The Honorable with U.S. Officials         
       Former United States Officials of all types             
United States Armed Services, Active Duty             
       Addressing Retired Personnel      
       Use of Rank by Retired Personnel      
       Use of Rank by Veterans      

Tribal Officials             
Clergy and Religious Officials           
Canadian Officials         
Australian Officials          
British Officials, Royalty, and Nobility        
Diplomats and International Representatives            
Foreign National Officials and Nobility        

SPECIFIC SITUATIONS
Business Cards       
Couples        
Etiquette             
Flags and Anthem Protocol             
Introductions            
Invitations: Writing & Addressing         
Invitations: Just Armed Service Personnel        
Name Tags            
Names on Programs, Signs, & Lists            
Naming a Building or Road            
Place Cards            
Plaques, Awards, Diplomas, Certificates    
Precedence: Ordering Officials           
Thank You Notes             

Back to directory of titles  /  See who is using Honor & Respect

For forms of address for invitations, place cards, name badges, introductions, conversation, and all other formal uses, see Honor & Respect: the Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address.

Copyright © 2013 Robert Hickey.     All Rights Reserved.
Photo: Marc Goodman.