jstevens@observer-reporter.com
WAYNESBURG - Judy Gardner will be sworn in at 10 a.m. today to serve the remaining nine months of her late husband's term as Greene County commissioner.
The ceremony will take place in the commissioners' meeting room in the county office building, one day after Greene County Judges H. Terry Grimes and William Nalitz appointed Mrs. Gardner to fill the seat left vacant by the March 27 death of John Gardner, the minority Republican commissioner who was seeking his fifth term in the May 15 primary.
Grimes said the appointment of Mrs. Gardner, 64, is "appropriate" because she will provide continuity for the period of time left in the term.
"She was John's wife, and she is quite familiar with the projects he was involved with," Grimes said. "Others would have to orient themselves with working with the present board. We think Judy Gardner was the proper choice."
Mrs. Gardner, whose educational background was an important factor in the judges' decision, said she was approached and asked if she would be interested in the position. "I did not seek the job, but when I was asked I said I would be honored," she said.
She was a schoolteacher in West Greene and Central Greene school districts and was director of Career Services at Waynesburg College for 18 years, retiring in 2002.
Mrs. Gardner served as president of Pennsylvania Association of Career Services and received the Donna Dentler Career Services Director of the Year Award.
She said that in the last year, when her husband's health was not good, she became more involved in what he was doing. "I tried to help make it as easy as possible for him, to keep him going," she said.
"When you are married to someone in politics, talking about the job is part of the daily routine," she said.
Mrs. Gardner said she will have a presence on the board. "I will not be a wallflower, I assure you," she said. "His projects will be carried through."
She is a graduate of Waynesburg College and did graduate work at West Virginia University, California University of Pennsylvania and Waynesburg College.
Mrs. Gardner said she has no intentions of running for any political office, but said, "I will be out and about. John was the voice of the people, and I believe in that, too."