Happy New Year, Clark County Commissioners

It’s time for Clark County commissioners to play a New Year’s game of musical chairs, sort of like in the unnotable scene from one of the less beloved Peanuts television specials, “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!”

Here’s a link to the animated ditty sung by Peppermint Patty.

And now, to the commissioners.

Outgoing Commissioner Marc Boldt has cleaned out his office, and a fresh coat of paint awaits Commissioner-elect David Madore upon his Jan. 2 swearing in.

Also waiting for Madore are a number of board assignments, which – wait for it – is likely to create a game of musical chairs amongst the board.

Here is a list of which board appointments Boldt will vacate at the end of the year:

• Children’s Justice Center
• Disability Board
• Fairgrounds Site Management Group
• Work Force Development Council
• Southwest Washington Behavioral Health Regional Service Network
• Discovery Clean Water Alliance

As chair of the commission, Boldt also served as the representative to the Finance Committee, the Local Health Boards Alliance and the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce. Commissioner Steve Stuart is scheduled to take over as chair in 2013, and will assume those roles.

Boldt is also a founding member of the Washington State Association of Public Health Officials, a board which is still in the start up phase.

Further, Boldt served on the Washington State Association of Counties. He was to be the chair of the board this year, but the election loss puts a halt to that. It is currently unknown if Clark County will retain a seat on that board.

And if that weren’t enough, Boldt was also the “emergency commissioner” who was summoned to a command center if the county entered a crisis or experienced a natural disaster.

It’s unlikely Madore will be expected to shoulder all these roles in his first year as a commissioner, but he will undoubtedly pick up some assignments.

The commissioners are scheduled for a board retreat in January. One topic of discussion will be who attends what meetings. And that is where the game of musical chairs begins.

“Commissioners have areas of interest and they have assignments,” said County Administrator Bill Barron. “Sometimes those mesh, and sometimes they don’t.”

In other words, expect some dancing around a few of the board appointments.

For posterity, here are the lists of assignments for the other commissioners.

Tom Mielke

• Endangered Species Act Water Resource Inventory Area 27/28 Planning Unit Board (This is the board for the county’s WRIA planning.)
• North County Emergency Medical Services Board of Directors

Steve Stuart

• Washington State Association of Counties Legislative Steering Committee
• Columbia River Economic Development Council (both board of directors and executive committee)
• Metropolitan Policy Advisory Committee
• Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation
• Southwest Washington Center for the Arts Board of Directors

All three commissioners

• Regional Transportation Council
• Clark Transit Agency (C-Tran)
• Board of Health