During her time, she said commissioners have “accomplished a lot” and to see how far they’ve come in those years is encouraging to her because “we’re definitely on the right path.”
Some highlights include establishing the first strategic plan in 2018 for the commissioners that guided the work they did and focused on providing technology access, quality-of-life issues and economic development, and increasing the population.
“We still have our challenges. We still have a long way to go,” she said. “But ... for 50 years we were declining in population, losing new generations of people that weren’t moving back to the community. In the last eight years for the first time, we’ve stabilized that population and haven’t seen the loss of people that we had seen previously.”
Flax Wilt looks at being a voice for the community from two different lenses, as a professional communicator and an elected leader, and they’re not the same with how you have to communicate and lead in different situations.
“One of the things that I knew when I took this position was that my job was to be a leader in a strategic way not to be the public information officer. That had to be a very clear distinction of my mind because my natural default is to be a professional communicator ... But I had to understand that that was not the biggest part of my job,” she said.
Biggest accomplishments and impact on the county
“My biggest personal points of pride are not about the physical accomplishments as much as they are about my personal philosophies,” Flax Wilt said.
She explained she’s proud to say she never once voted to increase taxes or infringe on someone’s property rights because those were important conservative principals she had when she started and she “never lost sight of that.” However, Flax Wilt said it wasn’t always easy.
“What’s popular is not always right and what’s right is not always popular. I feel really good about always doing what I knew was right despite the popularity contest that politics is today,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what I prefer. I have to to choose what’s best for the community.”
As a commissioner and elected official, the thing you have to be able to do is see the bigger picture and understand there’s alternative viewpoints, Flax Wilt said.
“It’s my job to represent all of those viewpoints and that is sometimes very difficult because I have to represent those viewpoints but also maintain my principles and those values that people voted me into this position to represent,” she said.
One thing Flax Wilt is “extremely” proud of is the better relationship between the city, county and chamber because it’s “as good as they’ve ever been in my memory.”
Some other accomplishments include things that have improved access to government services, both behind the scenes and ones people can physically see. These include rebuilding the entire network infrastructure, taking credit cards, which they didn’t do when Flax Wilt first started, the renovated third floor of Springview Government Center, AB Graham Building and courthouse, new headquarters building at the Clark County Fairgrounds, new 911 dispatch center, planning for a new public safety building and jail, and new housing options.
“If I think about that change, as much as government has changed or the physical attributes of the community have changed, I think about how much my family has changed in that time,” she said.
Flax Wilt said she hopes her leadership and accomplishments have contributed to the county.
“I do think I brought a unique perspective as a woman and a mother,” she said.
Biggest challenges and lessons learned
“I think the biggest challenge was discovering that people I had known for many years and trusted had a political agenda that mattered more to them than our personal relationship,” Flax Wilt said.
She always told herself when the job became more about politics than public service, that’s when she’d know it was time to leave — which she said has been the case the last year or two — and take a step back and let others lead.
“I’m not necessarily putting that on anybody else. It’s just been a challenge and something I’ve learned from,” she said.
Another challenge was getting the combined 911 communications center because of so many strong opinions and needs, past issues, legal rules, and getting everyone on the same page.
Some lessons she’s learned along the way are:
- Don’t assume that just because you have a long history with someone that you can trust them when it comes to matters of policy and the community.
- Put people in a position to bring their best skills and lead in the way that will provide the best outcome for the community.
- Encourage other leaders because it’s a thankless job and it’s difficult with the toxicity around public service.
Best part and hardest part
Flax Wilt said the best part was the first seven years because she felt things were simpler and more straightforward, and working with the staff at the county departments and elected officials’ offices to improve things behind the scenes. The hardest part has has been the last two years because of being in the international spotlight with the Haitian immigration situation, inner community turmoil and in-fighting within the community, and how easy it is to be misunderstood and dismissed as politician who can’t be trusted.
“Watching that transpire has really zapped my energy and in many ways broken my heart,” she said. “When I zoom out for a moment, I can see that sometimes you have to experience those challenges as a community to move forward and I think that’s what we’ve done and where we’re headed. But it wasn’t without a lot of hurting.”
After the last nine years, Flax Wilt said she doesn’t think there is anything she would have done different, expect maybe there were times she had an opportunity to engage more and get more input early in a process to get to the finish line easier.
“I think when it truly mattered, like which was during the Haitian immigration, I did step up and say what mattered and what was important,” she said.
Areas for future growth and improvement
Areas for growth and improvement include continuing to build a public information presence, and for long-time leaders to take a step back and allow new voices and perspectives to lead, Flax Wilt said.
“When I see young movers and shakers ... we can learn as much from (them) as they can learn from us. But by its nature, politics attracts people who are in the twilight of their career and not people who are in the highest energy point,” she said.
Over the next few years, Flax Wilt said it’ll be important for commissioners to continue to “budget conservatively in order to do bigger things,” making the difficult decisions to say no to things now in order to say yes to more important things down the road, and getting leaders in the community on the same page about those important topics.
The next commissioner
Leaving this role, Flax Wilt said she’s nervous about what will happen because of the unknown, but feels reassured knowing there are several “impressive individuals” who want to take part of the process of being appointed or running for the position.
“That makes me feel encouraged that there are good, qualified, talented people who want to do this job,” she said. “The next person will bring in their ideas and their unique way of leading and I feel encouraged that there are people out there who actually want to do this job and who want to lead and view it as a way to help our community.”
Some advice Flax Wilt gives to the next commission is don’t decide before you’ve listened, having principals and philosophies is how you filter the information that comes to you, maintain your values and recognize people are “just trying to live their lives and be a good citizen.”
What’s next?
Flax Wilt will continue to lead and grow her business, Shiftology Communication, which she’s had the last 17 years, invest more time in her husband and kids, and spend more time on her farm and in her barn.
“I am just excited to be able to be back and fully present to do some new and different things, support our clients and bring whatever knowledge and perspective that I’ve gained by being part of county government for the last nine years,” she said.
“It’s been an honor to be able to serve my community, my home, and leave things better than I found them.”
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