The transformation of Washington County from an overwhelmingly
Democratic jurisdiction into one where a majority of the voters are registered
Republicans has been a swift and total sea change. In the 2021 general election,
10,000 more Republicans cast ballots than in 2017. This gives Republicans a
clear majority at the polls and ensures that Washington is as “red” a county as
many of its rural neighbors to the east and north. The recent voting trend
reverses a period of Democratic majorities and governmental control that
predates the 1930s depression.
In the latest elections, Republicans have easily captured
the majority on the Board of Commissioners, in addition to the offices of
District Attorney, Sheriff and Controller. Beginning this January, all of the
Row Offices (Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills and Recorder of
Deeds) will be held by elected Republicans. In recent state and national elections,
Democratic candidates have not fared well in Washington County. The effort to
elect a bipartisan Government Study Commission went down in flames because
certain elected Republican officials fought vigorously against it.
It will take a well-trained team of political scientists to
analyze the data and determine the reasons for this abrupt change in voting
patterns. Westmoreland County is undergoing a similar transformation; so, we
are not alone. It is not clear how many Democrats switched their party affiliation
or how many are new voters. I suspect that the nativist appeal of Donald Trump
has caused many chronic non-voters to take an interest in local government for
the first time. Whatever the reason, elected Republican officials will be in
charge of all non-judicial county functions as we begin this new year.
Since the Republican
transformation began several years ago, it has become obvious that winning
elections is a whole lot easier than governing Washington County. Early on, rash decisions were made in the Row Offices to replace long-time knowledgeable
employees with partisan Republican supporters who had no experience. Without a transition
plan to train new employees in how to conduct critical clerical functions, many
of the Row Offices made mistakes and could not keep up with their responsibilities,
as defined by law. The problem was
exacerbated by the pandemic. This forced the courthouse to close and caused
already challenged offices to be short staffed.
Unfortunately, rather than working with other county
officials and with the courts to solve problems as they occurred, the newly
elected row officers chose to say a lot, while knowing little. The rhetoric was
and continues to be full-throated attacks against any elected Democrat still in
office and against their nominal political leader, Republican Commissioner
Diana Irey Vaughn, who helped get them elected.
Yearly audits designed to correct clerical and accounting deficiencies
before they got worse were labeled “personal vendettas by Democrats.” Administrative
court orders to cure deficiencies or to turn over records and files were
publicly criticized and resisted.
Republican officials made up new rules on the fly in direct
contradiction to their statutory authority or chose to ignore administrative
orders issued by the President Judge. In short, long-established nonpartisan
clerical functions, designed by law to ensure the orderly functioning of the
county judicial system, became partisan political battlegrounds. In true
Trumpian fashion, these officials attacked the messenger who pointed out
deficiencies rather than dig in and resolve the problem for the betterment of
the voters who placed them in office.
No one can recall the mundane Row Offices being front-page
news until a Democratic Clerk of Courts stole funds from the office and his
Republican replacement, (with little to do since several functions were removed
from her jurisdiction), began spending her time seeking media attention. She has filed more appeals from court orders
and sued more individuals for a variety of offenses in a matter of weeks than
the Clerk of Courts office has undertaken in decades. In the process of
avoiding a contempt hearing scheduled against her for ignoring court
directives, she has attempted to become the aggrieved and persecuted figure in
the eyes of her many social media followers and the evening news. While it is
all interesting theater, the embarrassment to the county and disruption to
judicial processes has been vast and immeasurable.
The tragic figure in all of this has been Chairman
Commissioner, Diana Irey Vaughn. She realizes that the opportunity for her
party, now finally in control of county operations, is about accountable
leadership and not partisan rhetoric.
Irey Vaughn was a minority Commissioner for many years and knows what
good government looks like. She has no
interest in tearing down what works or in supporting witch-hunts into
corruption that does not exist. Her responsible position has drawn the ire of
the new breed of Republican leadership who want to replace her with one of
their own.
The newly elected Republicans should be careful what they
wish for. If they replace Irey Vaughn, all of their imagined dragons will be
slain. There will be no one else to blame for damaging missteps as Washington
County slips into mediocrity or worse. Without knowledgeable officials in key
positions, the county’s municipal bond ratings will go down and surplus county
funds will disappear. In addition, businesses will lose confidence, and taxes
will increase. Living or working in Washington County will become undesirable.
The only good news for county residents is that in time,
voting patterns will again begin to change.
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