This article appears in the December 2018 issue of the Salem Business Journal.
By Dick Hughes
A few years ago, Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson was asked what she would want the newspaper headline to read when she retired.
Her answer: "She got things done."
After 16 years as a county commissioner, longtime colleagues say, that would be an understatement.
Carlson has a well-deserved reputation for her work in helping incarcerated individuals make a successful transition back into the community. In the same interview where she talked about her potential retirement headline, Carlson mused that of all her projects, the Marion County Reentry Initiative came closest to fulfilling the dictionary definition of "collaborative."
But as Carlson prepares to retire at the end of this year, it is worth remembering that she improved county government and touched lives in countless other ways as well.
Kevin Cameron, now a fellow county commissioner and previously a state legislator, recalls sitting with her in the basement of the Oregon Capitol to discuss the Marion County Reentry Initiative. Yet her influence went much further. He estimates that 60 percent of the legislation he passed out of the House Judiciary Committee was legislation he worked on with Carlson.
"She's just such a force of leadership, and when she gets ahold of something, she just doesn't let go – and in a positive way," he said.
That work ranges from the Marion County Fair to developing resources for children and families to understanding the intricacies of solid-waste management.
Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark has been inspired to join Carlson's efforts to overcome homelessness. Clark also worked with Carlson on developing Keizer Rapids Park, the Keizer Big Toy and other projects. She credits Carlson with helping her become a better mayor.
"I adore working with Janet Carlson. She is so dedicated," Clark said. "Her values are so deeply embedded in everything she's done." She describes Carlson's leadership style as striving collaboratively for long-term, meaningful successes – not personal grandstanding.
When working with Carlson, Clark said, "You better come prepared. She's ready to get it moving."
Commissioner Sam Brentano remembers one of their early interactions in which Carlson arrived at a meeting carrying "a stack of papers two-and-a-half feet high." When he said she was incorrect on one point, she quickly thumbed to the right page in the stack and handed him the data countering his argument.
"She's always very sure of the facts and she knows the facts," Brentano said. "But she always listens."
He and Carlson share a bond. Both have grandchildren with disabilities. "She knows the ins and outs of how people get the services they need and it's important to her that services work well and are responsive to individual needs," he said.
Her colleagues credit Carlson with a brilliant mind and she is known for a tenacious attention to detail while not losing sight of the overall goal. But they also note her compassionate heart. "It's a caring about people – the heart to help people help themselves and become better people," Cameron said. This is demonstrated in her work on children and families issues and the reentry initiative.
Jan Fritz, the deputy county administrative officer, recalls how Carlson was a steadying force when county and Salem-Keizer Transit officials confronted faulty construction in Courthouse Square and had to move out. The remediation, guided with valuable input from elected officials and the community, tested Carlson during the prolonged crisis. "Janet was able to analyze and evaluate all the options and considered not only the impact to the county as an organization, but the long term impact to the community," said Fritz.
"She's made county government better by challenging all of us to think broadly and consider all the possibilities," Fritz said. "She has a heart, and she truly has a commitment to doing the right thing."
So yes, Janet, you were a commissioner who truly got things done.
