Teamwork in the Time of COVID
By Diane Trautman
From day one as Harris County (Texas) Clerk, I worked hard to build a solid team that could meet any challenge we might encounter. I never dreamed the challenge would come from a virus that no one had ever heard of until one year into my tenure in January, 2020. Just 5 months later, my life and many others’ would be immeasurably changed forever.
My team was and is the best. We worked together with a single purpose to achieve all I hoped for in my first year: countywide voting, extended hours, voting on college campuses, more early voting locations, adding curbside buzzers, and designing a more inclusive marriage license. But none of us were prepared for what was coming in my second year.
When the virus hit Houston in March and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued a “Stay Home, Work Safe” order, my team and I knew we had to plan immediately for not one but two elections during this pandemic. In early April, we began ordering personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves, finger cots, sanitizing stations, and plexiglass, because other counties and states were competing for the same items.
At the same time, we had to identify essential courthouse services and the essential staff to run them. We had to close down 10 annex office locations immediately and gave staff the choice of working from home, working virtually, or in person. We identified essential services such as elections, civil and probate court operations, real estate and deed records, and IT services. To keep these services running, we operated daily with approximately 50 to 60 in person essential workers out of our normal 330 full-time staff members from March thru May.
During that time, we had several staff members test positive for the virus and they had to quarantine. My team worked around the clock and rotated staff members while making sure everyone adhered to strict safety measures. By May, the situation was improving on the courthouse side, and we were able to extend services to include marriage licenses by appointment only.
Meanwhile, things were changing rapidly regarding the May runoff election which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had already moved from May 26 to July 14. From sunup to sundown in March through May, I was on virtual meetings and interviews communicating to the public about changes for the upcoming elections and urging our 65 or over voters to apply to vote by mail. We also had to redesign election worker training to meet the new safety protocols at the polls and to keep our workers safe. This same scenario was playing out in county clerk offices throughout Texas and the country. Election officials were scrambling to find and order PPE and additional election infrastructure to meet the demands of an increase in mail ballot voting and the number of in-person voters that was coming. My team and I worked with the Commissioners Court to set aside funding to cover the increased costs of PPE, election equipment, and additional election personnel to make sure we were ready for both upcoming elections.
Just when we thought the worst was behind us, in late May, I was diagnosed with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), a form of vertigo brought on by high blood pressure and stress. That along with my age put me in a high-risk category for COVID and caused me to resign my position as Harris County Clerk. It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make. But I had prepared my team to keep things running with or without me. And thanks to our months of planning and teamwork, my amazing team was prepared to run a safe and secure election in July. I cannot thank them enough for their dedication and hard work.
COVID-19 changed my life in a matter of weeks. Thankfully, I’ve had great medical treatment and have been able to mostly recover from my health problems. Many other victims of this virus were not so fortunate and have left our society changed forever. I would like to pay special tribute and give thanks to our first responders and to the many front-line workers in our hospitals, testing centers, emergency rooms, schools, and grocery stores. These are the real heroes during this pandemic and who are another great example of teamwork and what we can accomplish when we all work together.
This was originally published on the COVID-19 Wall of Memories website on Oct. 1, 2020.
