Dec 16, 2023 5 min read

By Gary Stout

At the end of this year, one of the most remarkable political careers in Washington County history will end. For 28 years, Diana Irey Vaughan has served as an elected Republican representative on the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

For most of Irey Vaughan’s career, the position of minority commissioner in our county that was solidly Democratic was not a sought-after office. It required patience and political skill. With Irey Vaughan’s acumen, Washington County Republicans began building a grassroots organization that would give them a majority in voter registration. Finally, in November 2019, aided by a Democratic theft scandal in the clerk of courts office, Irey Vaughan was catapulted into the chairman’s chair on the board.

Irey Vaughan began her journey as Washington County’s youngest commissioner and the only woman ever elected to the position in 1996. Early on, she endured many of the inevitable slights common in the workplace when women break through the glass ceiling in politics. Her short stature, youth, and lack of experience made her an easy target. However, she learned quickly.

Fellow Republican James McCune, now county chief of staff, recalled Irey Vaughan’s first campaign and early years as a commissioner when he was county solicitor: “I remember one early agenda meeting when the other two commissioners vehemently disagreed with her decision and became very loud and intimidating. She stood ‘toe to toe’ with them and did not flinch or give an inch. Everyone in the room was impressed.”

Over her years as commissioner, Irey Vaughan told me one accomplishment stands out, “I volunteered in the Washington County Correctional Facility, encouraging female offenders in personal development. Occasionally, I see or hear from women I mentored who are still appreciative of the time I spent with them.” For Irey Vaughan, the needs of county residents trumped party politics.

In Irey Vaughan’s years as the minority representative, she saw her role as providing a voice for conservative values. Irey Vaughan believes in the Republican principles advanced by Ronald Reagan. However, she was able to put ideology aside to work with the Democratic commissioners for the betterment of the county. Irey Vauaghan’s goal was community service, not political upheaval.

There were dark clouds early in the commissioner’s final term, however. Republican officials elected to serve in the normally mundane row offices began testing the limits of their political power.

The Washington County Republican Party wanted to clean out career civil servants from the previous Democratic administration, no matter how well they performed. Irey Vaughan’s Republican running mate and fellow commissioner, Nick Sherman, often sided with the dissidents when it was politically expedient.

While Irey Vaughn was settling into her new role as chairwoman, COVID-19 was developing into a nationwide pandemic. By the spring of 2020, there was a full-blown public health crisis. Early on, then-President Trump passed most of the responsibilities for pandemic containment to individual states. Irey Vauaghan often disagreed with the length and strictness of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic lockdowns. There were rumblings among MAGA Republicans that Irey Vaughan did not do enough to take on the governor, an impossible task given his authority.

Early in her final term, Irey Vaughan decided it was time to form an 11-member Government Study Commission. The commission would consider changes that would allow Washington County to adopt a home rule form of government. While Irey Vaughan and Democratic commissioner Larry Maggi had different goals, they both supported an election referendum calling for the commission. The voters would choose the citizens to serve on the body. The elected members would then hold public meetings to review important matters like term limits and county reorganization initiatives. Irey Vauaghan was sure that Republican voters would appoint commission members who favored Republican objectives in improving county government.

Against Irey Vaughan’s well-reasoned plan, the Washington County Republican Party, Republican officials in the row offices, and Sherman launched a successful campaign to reject the formation of a commission. Rather than seek the government reforms these Republicans had called for in their 2019 election campaign, they supported no reforms and wanted business as usual. The vicious Republican rhetoric to defeat the study commission included personal attacks against Irey Vauaghan as a Republican in name only – a RINO.

In the 2020 presidential election, while Joe Biden won Pennsylvania, Trump captured 62% of the vote in Washington County. The county was clearly not fertile ground for MAGA supporters to contest the election.

However, a group of Republican election deniers began an organized disruption campaign at every public meeting of the county commissioners. They demanded the illegal decertification of the county’s presidential election results and made other outrageous claims about voter fraud and demanded the replacement of voting machines, which would have been very expensive. Irey Vaughan endured repetitive and unwarranted public rants calling for her resignation.

During much of the last four years, Republican row officers engaged in a campaign against the county court system and the commissioners. As Irey Vaughan sought to address each new crisis, the local Republican leadership also increased its personal attacks. It became clear that radical Republicans would challenge her reelection. While she believed she could win in the primary, she decided not to run.

Recently, Irey Vaughan announced her plans once she leaves county government. On March 1, she will replace Dean Gartland as president and CEO of the Washington City Mission. Her dedication to community service will continue. All of Washington County should wish her well as she begins this new and important chapter of her illustrious career.

Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.