Already that day, officials had surprised her by naming the expansion of the county courthouse in her honor. And now, the two Democratic commissioners who would be staying on the board after her retirement were presenting her with a proclamation honoring her years of service.

“Y’all are just about making me tear up for about the third time today,” said Nash, a Republican. “You accomplished your mission. You touched me.”

When she was first sworn into office nine years ago, Nash was taking over a county government reeling from scandal. She started her tenure with a simple statement: “I’m going to do the right thing.”

She won a special election in 2011 with 56% of the vote. Her predecessor, Charles Bannister, resigned in late 2010 to avoid a perjury charge. Two other county commissioners were indicted on bribery charges and left office between 2010 and 2012.

On top of that, Gwinnett’s finances were still being hammered by the effects of the Great Recession. Trust between Gwinnett and its cities, and Gwinnett and its residents, had been shattered.

“When she inherited the county, it was a nightmare,” said Nicole Love Hendrickson, who will take over Nash’s job in January.

Nash said she had no plans to return to the county after retiring in 2004 as Gwinnett’s administrator, in charge of day-to-day operations. But on a trip to Savannah for her granddaughter’s 16th birthday, her phone began to ring. She learned the news of Bannister’s resignation, and was urged to vie for the job he vacated.

“I didn’t even want to think about running for office,” said the 67-year-old Dacula native. “I still am surprised sometimes that I ever decided to run.”

It was the ability to fix issues in the county through relationships and good financial management that convinced her to try her hand at elected office. Nash, who started at the county in 1977 managing state and federal grants, rose to be the finance director before moving into the administrator position.

Wayne Hill, the former commission chairman when Nash was administrator, said his former “right arm” was up to the task.

“She stepped into that role and stuck her neck out — she was ready for the challenge,” he said. “How do you build a legacy? You do the right thing, and your legacy will be decided by the people.”

Still, ask Nash about what she thinks of as her legacy and she says: “The same thing I’ve been working on all along.” That is, transportation, water infrastructure, formalizing county processes and Gwinnett’s financial well-being.

A common point of pride in Gwinnett is the county’s ability to maintain the highest possible bond rating from each of the three major ratings agencies since Hill was in office.

“It was a very exciting day when we got that,” she said.

Nash doesn’t want to claim ownership of the financial success, calling it a team effort. But she led the charge.

“Charlotte put the importance of financial stability first and foremost for Gwinnett County,” said Lisa Johnsa, who retired from Gwinnett as the assistant county administrator, and worked for Nash for decades. “She began to impress upon elected officials the importance of being financially strong.”

Regional influence

Hendrickson said Nash is a fair and measured leader who was willing to listen to different ideas. She called Nash “warm, welcoming, inviting” to residents and said her example set Hendrickson’s own bar “really high.”

“She’s really created these launch pads for future leaders,” Hendrickson said. “The bones are there, and they’re strong bones.”

Johnsa said Nash “has a knack for pushing you to think multiple ways.” Fosque said Nash underlined the importance of creating strong partnerships.

“One of the things Charlotte said to me is when you do the work, your legacy will take care of itself,” Fosque said. “She’s very aware that the decisions she’s making are impacting generations to come.”

Some of that can be seen in major actions the board took this year, from work to put a transit referendum on the ballot (it ultimately failed by 1,013 votes out of nearly 400,000 cast) to the decision to sell bonds for water and sewer improvements. The creation of a development called Rowen is pitched as a project that could bring thousands of jobs to the county for decades in the future.

Rowen will have regional implications if it succeeds. But Nash has long had reach outside of the county she served, said Doug Hooker, executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission.

“Her influence is much wider, much quieter than people will ever really know,” Hooker said. “It’s gone a lot further than Gwinnett County.”

Hooker said Nash’s experience as both a staffer and elected official was invaluable in helping bridge the needs of the two different groups. Her contributions could sometimes be “wonky,” he said, but they led to results. She was often working behind the scenes to help bring parties together, as she did with the legislation that led to the formation of the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority Board.

Nash chaired the ARC’s transportation and air quality committees and had been involved in other aspects of the ARC’s work. As a result of her influence, Hooker said, the group reconsidered how it prioritizes transportation projects, leading to more projects being delivered on time.

He said Nash is thoughtful, selfless and full of humility as a leader.

“What she wants at the end of the day is good, pragmatic, fiscally responsible government to benefit as many people as possible,” Hooker said. “She is authentic.”

Katherine Zitsch, director of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, said Nash has also had an “immense” role in regional water issues, including making last-minute trips to Washington, D.C. to advocate for metro Atlanta. Nash, who was chair of that board, has a knack for making technical information easy to understand, Zitsch said.

“She has a quiet way of working things out and setting the right path forward so those around her have a path to follow,” Zitsch said.

For her part, Nash said there are many things she’ll miss about serving. But she’s content with her decision to step away. Even if the coronavirus upended her expectations for her final year in office, she was able to accomplish most of what she set out to do.

“I feel very much at ease with my decision,” she said. “I feel a great sense of satisfaction.”