Opinion: Clerk's departure to leave information gap in county's government

Linn County Attorney Justin Meeks, left, shakes the hand of departing County Clerk David Lamb during a reception in Lamb's honor on Friday, Jan. 31. Lamb retired after serving 20 years as county clerk plus working under former clerk Don Proffitt. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com

The departure of David Lamb as Linn County Clerk is a significant event in the history of the county. With 20 years spent as county clerk and nine years as an assistant county clerk, he has been in the thick of county politics – and history – for nearly a fifth of the 158 years that have passed since the county was founded in 1867.

He has been witness to decisions and events that have shaped what the county is today. He has worked with commissioners that have had the good of the county in mind. He has worked with commissioners who have brought personal agendas to the weekly commission meetings. He has had to deal with the fallout from commissioners who have caused lawsuits to be filed against the county.

He has had to deal with a shortage of election workers. Even more recently, he has had to deal with local skeptics whose conspiracy theories of election fraud have been fanned by national politicians and social media posts. Undoubtedly the most stress from the clerk’s job has been elections, and throughout it all he seems to have kept a level-headed approach to his job.

Besides the loss of someone who seems to keep cool while dealing with a host of problems, another loss for the county is the loss of history. Why did a previous commission do this and another one do that? For most of those questions, David knew the answer.

Shayna and David Lamb are joined by David's parents, LeRoy and Nadine Lamb, at a retirement reception for David on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Linn County Courthouse Annex. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

Former county counselor Gary Thompson also carried that history in his head, but that ended last year when Thompson, weary of one commissioner’s accusations of overcharging the county, walked away from his decades-long service with a resignation.

For the press, Lamb has been an invaluable source of information. And that information has always been objective, which has been very valuable for reporters swimming their way through the amount of information that comes from most (but not all) of the commission meetings.

That kind of resource is not replaced very quickly, no matter how competent his replacement will be.

But David’s service to the county and the Mound City community doesn’t stop there. Volunteer firefighter with emergency medical training, mayor and city council member were just part of the public service he has provided. We would also be remiss if we didn’t recognize Shayna Lamb’s contribution to the Mound City community by serving on city council for 12 years including a stint as mayor.

There are a lot easier ways to make a living than being a public servant, especially a clerk for a rural county. That job asks that the clerk wear many hats: an accountant, a recorder of county business, administrator, and an election official. Nor is it easy being a mayor or city council member who also has to deal with a host of problems and angry people.

We are grateful to David and Shayna for their contributions to the county and the Mound City community.