Irey Vaughan still making history as commissioner

Diana Irey Vaughan's children could always tell when she had a bad day at the office.

“I would come home and eat Häagen-Dazs peanut butter ice cream right out of the container,” Irey revealed with a laugh.

“Fortunately, I don't have as many of those days, but occasionally … .”

With her re-election Tuesday, she becomes the longest-tenured commissioner in Washington County history. In January, the Nottingham resident will begin her sixth term.

In 1995, Irey Vaughan was recruited by the Washington County Republican Party to run for commissioner. The party first approached her former father-in-law, then-county GOP Chairman Frank Irey Jr. But when he declined, the party reached out to her.

“They told me it was just community service and a part-time job,” Irey Vaughan said. “Now, 60 hours a week later, I see how wrong they were. But I still look at it as community service.”

She faced four candidates in her first GOP primary election. She and incumbent Joe Ford survived. In the general election, Irey Vaughan and Ford, along with Democrat Bracken Burns, were victorious.

It marked the first Republican majority on the Washington County board since 1932.

Irey Vaughan agreed to split the chairmanship three ways – each commissioner serving in the top post for 16 months – as a way to build unity.

In addition to being the first woman commissioner, at 33 she was the youngest person elected to the position in county history.

“It was a challenge because we only had a couple female (department) directors,” Irey Vaughan said. “People weren't used to reporting to a woman on the seventh floor – and someone much younger than them.”

Any time a certain department head tried to convince Irey Vaughan to see things his way, he would wink at her.

“I finally asked him if he had something in his eye,” Irey Vaughan said. “It was his way of telling the little woman, but he didn't get his way.”

Over time, she built working relationships at the county seat by demonstrating that she worked hard, studied details and listened to people's opinions before making decisions.

“What it boiled down to was I had to earn the respect that my colleagues were given,” Irey Vaughan said. “I think that made me a better commissioner.”

Other female leaders

Eventually Kim Ward in Westmoreland County and Angela Zimmerlink in Fayette County were elected commissioner.

Irey Vaughan said the role model for her and others was Barbara Hafer, who was elected Allegheny County commissioner in 1983 and subsequently served as state treasurer. Hafer met with Irey Vaughan soon the Washington County commissioner was elected.

“She gave me terrific advice on how to handle the job,” Irey Vaughan said.

Irey Vaughan serves as a role model for her daughters in public service.

Victoria, who often accompanies her mother to public events, works for the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Entrepreneurial Excellence as a representative for the Small Business Development Center for Washington and Greene counties.

Irey Vaughan's younger daughter, Alexandra, is a Grove City College senior political science major.

Irey Vaughan predicted at least one of her daughters will go into public service. Asked if either daughter might step into her shoes, Irey Vaughan said, “Anything is possible.”

Irey Vaughan said the most visible accomplishments of her career have been the development of business parks: Cal Tech, Starpointe and Southpointe.

She is also proud of the Furlough Into Service program, in which inmates perform services for local governments and nonprofit agencies.

Irey Vaughan said she is equally proud of the commissioners' role in expanding the Washington County Health Center, and keeping taxes low.

Irey Vaughan has twice ventured outside county politics, losing a bid for Congress in 2006 to John Murtha and in 2012 to state Treasurer Rob McCord.

The GOP asked her to seek the state office because of the commissioners' management of its strong pension fund.

Irey Vaughan said she has no regrets about in her time in office.

“I think I'm a better commissioner today than when I started,” Irey Vaughan said. “Experience helps prepare you for what you do. I haven't done anything alone. It's been a team effort.”

Juggling

Irey Vaughan balances motherhood with public service.

“It's different for a working woman because most working women are still coming home and organizing the house, doing meal planning, doing the laundry, cleaning the house,” Irey Vaughan said. “Woman tend to juggle more home responsibilities with a career than most men do.”

When she first took office, her children were ages 2, 5 and 6. Today, Victoria is 26; Frank, 25; and Alexandra, 22. She credited her late mother, Ruth, with helping with child care.

“That was the gift she gave to me,” Irey Vaughan said.

She has gone from being the youngest commissioner to the most-tentured member.

Her personal life has changed over the years, from being married to being a single mother to being the wife of a soldier. Her husband, Lt. Col. Robert Vaughan, is a member of the U.S. Army Reserve.

Over the past 10 years, the county has changed the way it approaches economic development and what people expect of human services.

“What really breaks my heart is the change in the number of victims of abuse and the severity of abuse in our children,” Irey Vaughan said.

She created a Children and Youth Task Force comprising professionals from state police to court-appointed advocates to school superintendents – all of whom deal daily with such issues. Their input played a role in Democratic state Rep. Brandon Neuman's drafting of the state's child protection law.

When first elected, Irey Vaughan did not envision a 20-year career, and she does not see herself in county office two decades from today.

“Twenty years from now, I hope to be spending time with my grandchildren,” Irey Vaughan said.

Irey Vaughan said it is an honor to serve Washington County.

“I have such a passion for the work I do, and my heart is with the people,” she said.

Irey Vaughan volunteers at the Washington County Correctional Facility, working with female inmates in a re-entry program.

“The goal is to help them to prepare a concrete plan for their life when they get out,” Irey Vaughan said. “We want to reduce recidivism.

“It's really sad to see a life that's being wasted. I think probably the biggest change in me is my heart has been softened by all I've seen.”