A year into the pandemic, we sat down to talk with Mark Lawley, the executive director of the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment

Mark Lawley, executive director of the Weld County Health Departmetn poses for a photo Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Photo by Kelly Ragan.

By Kelly Ragan

When Mark Lawley started at the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment as a deputy director, there was a lot going on.  

The previous executive director of the health department had just announced his retirement after clashing with the Weld County Board of County Commissioners. In May, nearly a hundred people had died of COVID-19.

It’s hard to think of a worse time to start a new job. 

But Lawley said he knew what he was getting into when he decided to take on the role. 

Lawley spent 37 years in fire service for Mountain View Fire Rescue in Longmont before he retired in 2017. He did consulting on strategic planning for a couple years after that. But he found himself missing public service, he said. 

“I missed being able to provide that expertise to the community,” Lawley said. 

As for stepping into a role dealing with the worst public health crisis Weld County had experienced in a century, Lawley said his years dealing with disasters such as the 2013 flood, wildfires and more helped prepare him to tackle it. In that role, Lawley said, he learned how to work with federal, state and local officials to navigate a crisis, which was “invaluable,” he said. 

So far, Lawley said, the hardest part of the job has been keeping people focused on the bigger picture. People have COVID-19 fatigue, Lawley said, and providers are frustrated that it’s been so difficult to get vaccines. 

“We’re frustrated too,” Lawley said. “But we’re working to keep people on board.” 

Where Weld Stands with Vaccines

Last March, life as we knew it ground to a halt. Businesses closed their doors – some for good – while Weld unemployment rates jumped from 2.9% in February 2020 to a high of 10.10% in June 2020. 

And as of Tuesday, 226 people in Weld County died because of the COVID-19 virus since the epidemic began nearly a year ago. Statewide, nearly 6,000 people have died because of the virus. 

But things may be turning around, especially as Colorado is set to receive its first shipment of the new Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine Friday, according to a report by 9News. 

At a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis said that he’s optimistic “that by summer we’ll be very normal.”

According to the health department’s website, it had administered a total of 68,190 vaccines as of Tuesday, 44,698 of those being the first dose and 23,491 being the second dose – though those figures don’t capture vaccines administered by North Colorado Medical Center, UCHealth Greeley, or Sunrise Community Health. 

Most health department employees were eligible to receive vaccines in the early phases. Lawley said the health department worked to prioritize vaccinating employees who interacted often with patients, then those who worked as contact tracers and case investigators. 

But Lawley himself has yet to receive a vaccine. 

“It’s not because I don’t want to get the vaccine,” Lawley said. “But there are a lot of people out there who are still impacted by COVID-19, so I think when you look at the numbers, there’s still a lot of 70-year-olds, 65-year-olds, people with comorbidities who haven’t received it yet.” 

Lawley said he’s been encouraged to see how many people and companies have stepped up to help provide the vaccines – but, he said, the biggest issue is vaccine supply. While much of the necessary infrastructure is in place, vaccine supply has been limited so far. 

Relationship with Weld County Commissioners

Lawley’s predecessor, Mark Wallace, announced his retirement after clashing with commissioners this summer. 

Wallace, whose career in Weld began in 1995, advised commissioners against reopening in April. He told commissioners the county hadn’t yet met the guidelines for reopening and had “serious heartburn” looking at the data in Weld. 

Commissioners moved to reopen anyway, shifting to its “safer-at-work” policy. Five days later, Wallace told commissioners he wanted to retire. Wallace later joined Sunrise Community Health. 

Lawley said he has a good relationship with commissioners.

“They are the policy makers,” Lawley said. “As an agency, we can provide information to help them shape that policy. If they have a policy they want to implement, it’s our responsibility to figure out how to make it work.” 

A good working relationship, Lawley said, allows him to have frank conversations around what’s best for public health. 

Despite Weld County’s at times tumultuous relationship with the state, Lawley said as a public health official he is on calls with the state every day, and that he believes working with the state is important. 

“We still have to work together,” Lawley said. 

On Public Scrutiny 

Lawley took on the role of deputy director in May 2020. Commissioners announced via news release June 23, 2020 they chose Lawley to temporarily replace Wallace. Lawley was selected as the permanent replacement, but commissioners did not announce the move via news release. Since Lawley stepped into the role nearly a year ago, he’s faced significant scrutiny. 

According to a report by The Greeley Tribune, Weld County received 299 applications for the role of deputy director over the course of several months. Yet Lawley’s was the only application reviewed by commissioners. 

But it’s still unclear as to why county officials made that decision. 

The NoCo Optimist reached out to the county for comment back in July. 

In an email, a Weld County Joint Information Center official said the process was expedited because there was an urgency to the hiring process, but that the normal process was followed. 

“Mark Lawley was considered the best applicant; his application was presented to the board for review. Then, as is always done, the board interviewed Mr. Lawley before offering him the position of deputy director.” 

The heads of the HR and Finance department ultimately chose to put Lawley’s application in front of the board for review. 

“The Board agreed Mr. Lawley’s qualifications in public administration, including his experience managing a large organization (which the other applicants did not have), were the best fit for the position he was hired to fill,” the official wrote in the email. 

So, what does Lawley make of the scrutiny? 

“I think this is the first time in a long time that public health has been out in front like this,” Lawley said. “Public health hasn’t had that pressure on them in this kind of context.” 

Lawley said that in his previous work as a fire chief, he was always in the public eye, so the pressure of it all doesn’t deter him. 

Ultimately, Lawley said, it’s his job to lead the health department through the pandemic and beyond. In the long-term, Lawley wants to ensure the health department is working efficiently to support other community partners and help fill in gaps in the public health system while promoting collaboration internally. 

“I see it as my job to support the people who work here, empower them, and hold them accountable,” Lawley said.