A DAO in the Life December 2020
By Leslie Beauregard
A DAO in the Life
Leslie Beauregard, Staunton Assistant City Manager
If 2020 has taught us anything it’s that we all need to take deep breaths and find our meditative space, probably much more often than usual. Stay in that space and let’s talk about a topic that everyone related to this year: the election. The fact is that no matter your political viewpoint, we all found ourselves stressed out and anxious about the election, the building up to it and certainly what has occurred post-election. At the same time that we were managing our own emotions and feelings, we had to support and help manage a process to carry out the most challenging election in recent memory amid a health pandemic!
Let me immediately recognize every public servant who worked so hard to plan and carry out this election. My kudos to all the staff and election officials who I am sure gave so much more time than any election in the past. Your jobs were tireless and I am sure at times thankless. Every time I would go on the first level of City Hall, I would witness their great work during those early voting weeks and was in awe of their professionalism and efficiency.
I am sure many of you lent a helping hand in making the election as safe and efficient as possible. COVID-19 and the extreme interest in the election presented a very unique set of challenges, from keeping employees and poll workers safe, to giving voters various and new ways to vote. Here are a few things we did in Staunton:
When City Hall was still closed to the public in the early summer months, for our local May election and June primary, we allowed voters the opportunity to drop off ballots in our parking garage. There was a table with instructions to call the office, the voter would stay in the car while they filled out the application and ballot, which the election officials would then take back with them to insert. We also allowed in -person absentee voting in City Hall with various COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Staff installed a ballot box outside City Hall. Our Registrar got very creative and bought a regular mailbox and then had our amazing Public Works Department modify it. It was a huge success!
Our Registrar received CARES Act funds which helped pay for additional staffing, the ballot box mentioned above, and supplies to send out ballots, and mailings to voters regarding their designated voting locations.
That all sounds great and yes, our election went just fine here because of our cool headed, professional staff, their dedication and creativity. But I have to mention the personal challenge any election presents to us as local government professionals and this one in particular was one for the ages. We do get a voice of course – we can vote and have an opinion on issues. But remember that we also work with elected officials, and not crossing that line and remembering our role is critical. I don’t think I need to remind you of what that line is but I know how hard it is to keep things to yourself sometimes. So that gets me back to the deep breathing and mediation that started this article. We may all need to master those techniques for the long term.