First female chair elected to commissioners

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
In an historic moment on Jan. 5, Commissioner Marty Ertman became the first female chairman of the Weston County Board of Commissioners. Ertman is only the second female commissioner in the history of Weston County, the only other being Donna Baldwin-Hunt, according to County Clerk Becky Hadlock. 
Currently in her 11th year on the board, Ertman said she is honored to be the county’s first madam chairman. 
“Being a commissioner, it is the same for all of us. The chairman just leads the meeting. We are all elected by the same people, and this time they happen to choose me to be the chairman,” Ertman said in a phone call with the News Letter Journal. “I see them all as my equals, as I did before. I am honored to be chairman. I have always been honored to be on the board. It is a cool thing when your peers elect you for something. I don’t see it as a gender thing, though. I think we are all equal.” 
According to Ertman, being the chairman doesn’t change the weight of her vote. She said there are five people on the board, no matter what side of the table she sits on. 
“It will be an interesting journey being the one to
lead the meetings, I have
been on the other side for so long,” Ertman said. “The only thing I want to bring to the board through this role is a calmness.”
Ertman chuckled after saying that some people might shake their heads when they think about her being calm. 
“We are going through some incredible times. I want to bring some calmness through it all,” Ertman said. “I hope to bring that calm; that’s all I want. I want to keep things civil and give everyone their right to be heard. When you walk into that commission room, you are in your room as citizens. Everyone has a right to speak and be heard.” 
She noted that she is happy to be facing these difficult times with what she said is a “great bunch of commissioners,” all with wonderful ideas. 
The commissioner is the third of recent female firsts, the other two being former Mayor Deb Piana and Weston County School District No. 1 board Chairman Tina Chick. Mayor Pam Gualtieri is the second female Newcastle mayor. 
“It’s an exciting time to be a woman and to get the opportunity to fill such important roles and breaking some of
the old boundaries,” Chick said. “I think it says a lot
about the people of Weston County, that they are not concerned about the gender of the person filling the chairman role, but with simply the person who fills those seats. I count myself lucky to be among the first women to hold one of those seats, alongside the mayor and now the county commissioners.”