Lindy Glode, left, and Sue Jones are enjoying working together as Carbon County Commissioners. Glode is a fourth-generation resident of Carbon County. Her ancestors homsteaded at the foot of Farris Mountain and her grandfather worked at a stage stop. Jones is a fifth-generation resident and her great-grandfather Charles Ellis was a Carbon County Commissioner in 1929.
Lindy Glode and Sue Jones were elected as the second and third female Carbon County Commissioners last fall and took office in January.
The two women are from the PlatteValley. Glode lives in Saratoga and Jones lives in Encampment.
After serving for three months as commissioners, the women talked with the Saratoga Sun about their experiences on the five-commission board.
Glode said serving as a commissioner is very challenging but also exciting. She likes the dynamics of the five-member board.
“We are a team,” Glode said. “Because we are such a big team, we are really learning how to work together as a team.”
The meetings are taking longer, Jones said, but that is because there are five voices and five opinions compared to when there were three commissioners in the past.
Jones said the new commission is covering a lot more territory, which means more discussion.
“We have big issues, so there is more public discussion and interaction.”
Each of the commissioners have opinions, Jones said.
Glode said she believes the commissioners could use a couple of work sessions because they have so many industry projects in the planning stages. “We also have buildings to visit, roads to travel. We really have our plates full,” Glode said. Jones agreed.
Having five commissioners has been educational, Jones said. “Each of us have a completely different personality, and you can learn a lot from each other.”
Jones talked of the Creston Project, saying Commissioner John Johnson, of Elk Mountain, has years of experience on the Medicine Bow Conservation District. With that experience has NEPA down to a fine science, Jones said.
Johnson brought up an idea of mixing alternatives, Jones said. It was something she would not have considered and it made her realize how important it was to have the diversity of five members on the commission.
“I think, from what I have seen, (the commission) is so much better than three. We have diverse opinions on energy and other things. It’s better for the county,”Glode said.
“We don’t all agree, and I think that is a good thing. We have different opinions on things and we bring different knowledge to the issues.” Glode said.
“We respect each other,” Jones added.
The commissioners are now audio streaming their meetings. That is an accomplishment Glode and Jones are both proud of.
Glode and Jones said they have both received a lot of positive feedback about the audio-streaming.
Glode said she likes audio streaming because interested people can hear everything the commissioners say. “We want people to know how we feel, not just our vote,” Glode said.
Jones said that sometimes the media puts in a quote, but it is taken out of context and people can now hear everything. Jones said when information is passed from one person to another, the message can get construed.
Jones, who said she is a legislative session listener, likes that people can become engaged with what is going on at the commissioner meetings through the audio streaming.
Glode and Jones said they knew they would be busy with the commissioner position if they took it serious.
Jones said she did not realize that she was going to be as busy as she is and said her volunteer work has suffered because she does not have the time she had before.
“It’s important to be in touch with the people on the issues,” Jones said. Recently she travelled to Elk Mountain three times in two weeks when discussions on what to do about the bridge were happening. For Jones, traveling to Elk Mountain is a 120-mile round trip.
“It’s a big job,” Jones said.
Glode agreed. “It’s more than a part-time job. It’s almost a full-time job. Every day I am reading something, going to a meeting, studying something for the county or talking on the phone. It’s a big job and you need to have the time (to do the job).”
Glode and Jones said they both take the commissioner job seriously.
As females on the commission, Jones said it is different to serve on a board that has been traditionally male.
“You don’t want to be perceived as emotional or persnickety, so you have to be careful,” Glode said.
She is hoping, from now on, there will be one or two women on the commission because everybody brings something different, Glode said.
Glode said she thinks it is important to have men and women together on the board.
“Women look at the softer side of things” Jones said. “We believe it’s important the meeting about Elk Mountain be in Elk Mountain.”
“We bring a lot of different perspectives,” Glode said.
Jones said they have a great group to work with and Jones and Glode are treated with respect.
One of the difficult things for Glode is appointing people to the boards in Carbon County, she said.
“Really good people apply. We have to pick the best person and stick by our decision and not look back.”
Glode said it is a hard thing to say no to someone who wants to serve on a board, but they do the best they can. Glode said she wants to encourage people to apply for boards and get involved.
“We are the people’s government. We work for the people,” Glode said.
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