From Clerk to Commissioner

It’s an exciting but bittersweet time for Gwynn Bartlett.

On December 17, the Carbon County Clerk tendered her resignation from the office she has held since 2007. On January 7, she was sworn in as the newest member of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). It’s a new chapter—and a new form of public service—for someone who has worked in the county clerk’s office for more than 27 years.

In July 1997, Bartlett signed on with the Carbon County Clerk’s Office, working as a deputy clerk under County Clerk Linda Smith.

“I worked as the deputy clerk doing vehicle titles, helping with the budget, elections, human resources [and] payroll all before becoming clerk,” said Bartlett.

For nearly 10 years, Bartlett worked as the deputy clerk. When Linda Smith—a Democrat—ran for re-election during the 2006 primary election there was not a Republican candidate who had filed.

“The most important thing is I don’t do any of this alone. Right now there’s six other people in the office." ~ Gwynn Bartlett

“I was still working in the office and I was written-in by a number of people in the primary [election]. I chose to accept that write-in nomination. In the primary there was no Republican candidate running against the incumbent Democratic [county] clerk at the time,” said Bartlett. “Once I accepted the nomination, obviously my name was printed on the general election ballot and then I won. I think it was the encouragement of a number of people who helped me make my decision. It wasn’t something I was actively seeking at the time.”

According to Bartlett, her nearly decade experience as deputy clerk and working in various capacities in the clerk’s office helped prepare her for taking on her newly elected role. Despite that experience, she said, there’s never been a moment where she hasn’t stopped learning something as county clerk. Much of that, she said, has come from changes in the form of legislation as to what duties her office performs or how they perform them.

Bartlett has spent more time as the elected county clerk than she had as the deputy clerk, serving nearly 10 years in the first role and serving 17 years and three-and-a-half terms as county clerk. Following her initial election in 2006, she was reelected in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. In her time leading the clerk’s office, she believes she has made a number of changes for the better of both the county government and her constituents.

“[The] one that I’m most proud of is the culture. That is attributed to a lot of people and I think I’m a big part of that. We have maintained staff at the clerk’s office for really long periods of time and have had a really consistent staff with people—from 25 years, 21 years, 18 years, 16 years—all along the way with me,” said Bartlett. “When I took over, including the clerk, there were 15-and-a-half staff and we’re down to seven-and-a-half right now. From the savings and salary and benefits cost, we’ve saved the county millions of dollars over the last 18 years.”

Other accomplishments Bartlett listed included digitizing the entirety of Carbon County land records and making them available online for the public. Bartlett also served on a committee of county clerks who—along with the Secretary of State—chose the statewide election equipment now used in Wyoming.

“I was the project manager for the Carbon Building and courthouse renovations,” said Bartlett. “That was a $28 million remodel and I was integral in the role of finding funding and carrying out the project to its completion, including paying it off recently.”

In April 2024, the BOCCC announced they had paid off the project in the two renovation projects entirely. Approximately $18 million of that came from One Percent Specific Purpose Sales and Use Tax (6th penny tax) funds, leaving another $10 million to pay off. In 2022, Carbon County had accepted $8.7 million from the United States Department of Treasury’s Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. This, combined with interest and some money from the general fund, was used to free up $700,000 from the county’s annual budget.

“The most important thing is I don’t do any of this alone. Right now there’s six other people in the office,” said Bartlett. “They’ve been so great and have made me look good over the years. A lot of the credit goes to them.”

So why go from Carbon County Clerk to Carbon County Commissioner?

“I still care about the county and want to be involved,” said Bartlett. “I want to devote time to the county but also devote time to my family.”

Bartlett’s race for Carbon County Commissioner was probably one of the more mild during the 2024 election cycle in Wyoming. For her, it wasn’t about trying to replace anyone but to work alongside the commissioners—many of whom she’d already worked with for years—in a different capacity.

“I didn’t run because I was upset about anything the current board was doing, in fact I have a great relationship with all of them,” said Bartlett. “I think one of things we need to focus on as a board—and they’ve focused on this in the past as well—is a sustainable budget. The county has so many functions that we’re responsible for and in such a wide geographic area that it’s difficult.”

In a county that is nearly 8,000 square miles with 11 different municipalities, it takes people to help maintain and work in the various county buildings. Whether it’s county libraries, road and bridge shops or senior centers there are services in nearly every community which residents depend on.

“We just really need to focus on sustainability of that, getting creative [and] maybe combining services where we can,” said Bartlett. “Just really focusing on the statutorily required services we have to provide.”

Of course, Bartlett can’t be in two elected positions at the same time, hence her resignation announcement in December which was effective January 6. After that, Lisa Smith—not to be confused with the county clerk prior to Bartlett—will step in as the interim county clerk as appointed by the BOCCC. On January 7, the commissioners declared a vacancy in the office of Carbon County Clerk and authorized a letter notifying the Carbon County Republican Party of the vacancy.

The Carbon County Republican Party will meet on January 18 in Saratoga at the Platte Valley Community Center where they will select three qualified individuals. Those three candidates will then be presented to the BOCCC.

“On January 21, the commissioners would appoint the new county clerk that would fulfill the rest of my term,” said Bartlett. “Lisa does intend to put in her name to the Republican Party and hopes to be one of the three that advances to the commissioners, but it doesn’t mean they will. They don’t have any obligation to choose her.”

Whoever is presented by the Republican Party and selected by the BOCCC will then fulfill the remainder of Bartlett’s term, which expires at the end of 2026. Whether Lisa Smith serves in the role for a short time—just 15 days from January 6 to January 21—or is appointed to fulfill the remaining term, Bartlett said she believes the clerk’s office is in good hands.

“She’s been here 21 years and has worked in pretty much all the facets of the office as well,” said Bartlett. “I wish her all the best and the team here the best.”