Washington Board of Health plans to pick new dept. director

WASHINGTON — Board of Health members in Washington County have scheduled a meeting on May 2, where they plan to pick the local government’s next public health director from a list of three candidates.

The choice will determine who takes on the role, which has increasingly drawn public attention in recent years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic thrust health officials — and their decisions — into the spotlight across the globe.

The contenders, anonymized as Candidates A, B, and C, were discussed by those monikers at a meeting April 25. Decision-makers said none of the applicants “checked every box” after a series of interviews the previous weekend, but emphasized that each had promising strengths for the position.

Officials will use the extra week before extending a job offer to check in with the candidate’s references.

“As a board, it’s our responsibility to make sure that we put the right person in the position,” Board of Health Chair Andrea Leyden said. “I just want to make sure that we’re making a sound decision for the employees, and a sound decision for the community.”

During the discussion, board members said Candidates A and B had scored well on a metric sheet during their interviews with health officials and an assembly of community members, while Candidate C scored worse on both counts.

Candidate A, officials said, had noteworthy experience and was a good speaker, two things they agreed were priorities for the role. But Board Member Kodey Salow said he worried the contender was not a good fit for Washington County’s communities.

"Her background and history is linked to kind of a larger population, and our kind of rural community has maybe different needs, that she’s not familiar with or aware of,“ he said. ”The others had kind of varying experiences, but more, kind of, with a rural population.“

Candidate B, meanwhile, offered “management experience” according to Leyden, and met more of the position’s application criteria, according to Board Member Dr. Trevor Martin.

But she "lacked communication,“ in the words of Board Member Jenny Morgan, who described the applicant as ”timid.“

“I feel like we need someone that can get in front of a group and speak on our behalf,” Morgan said.

Board members offered few details on Candidate C.

County Supervisor and Board of Health Member Jack Seward Jr. attended the meeting, but did not participate in the discussion and said he planned to abstain from any vote on the matter, citing an unspecified conflict.

While several parts of Iowa’s state and administrative codes refer to “conflicts of interest,” requiring board members to step out of the decision-making process when it impacts their finances, those of a family member, or other personal interests. Asked after the meeting, Seward declined to specify whether his non-participation was due to a conflict of interest, or a different type of conflict.

“The conflict is alluded to in several other parts of the Iowa Code and the Iowa Administrative Code, that would apply to not just an actual conflict, but a perceived conflict,” he said. “So I am declaring a conflict and I won’t be participating.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com