Having worked on behalf of our citizens as County Assessor since 2014, I have long worked for positive change in our community, focusing on proactively educating our citizens, clearing the fog from often complicated state laws and processes and responding quickly with a positive, helpful approach.  I have met and listened to many of our friends and neighbors this past year and have decided to continue the good work in our community and am seeking to be your next Clerk & Recorder.  I want to continue the great work of our Clerk & Recorder Team, bring fresh ideas and positive solutions requested by our voters.  

 

I have always been concerned about government efficiency and fiscal responsibility and never being satisfied with business as usual.  I would be honored with your consideration to endorse and support my campaign to be your next Clerk & Recorder.

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Over the past eight years you have entrusted me as your County Assessor to support and fight for some of your most important individual Rights, such as your private property rights, taxation, and the continued funding and healthier changes to your Senior Homestead and Disabled Veteran Exemption programs.

 

Today, I am asking you to entrust me with another of your most precious individual rights, and that is the Right to Vote.  Voting is an American Principle and a basic democratic right that should be Protected, Promoted, and Practiced.

 

Since 2014, I and my staff in the Assessor's Office have worked diligently to make your Assessor's Office a model of efficiency, effectiveness, and customer service, and was awarded the 2017 Downtown Civil Servant Star Award, and was also named the 2019 Assessor of the Year for the State of Colorado.  I and my staff continually build positive relationships with our property owners and taxpayers.  Our current Clerk's shoes will be hard to fill; however, I know that I have to buy my own and am confident that with the current great team in the Clerk's Office are committed to serving El Paso County and under my guidance will continue to build the El Paso County Clerk & Recorder's Office as the most outstanding operation in Colorado.

 

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One of the challenges facing our new Clerk & Recorder is regaining public trust in our local elections:

 

There are three ways to rebuild citizen's trust:

 

1. Give the citizens of El Paso County more tools and greater space they need to be powerful:  By opening data and being even more transparent, the Clerk and Recorder's Office can give citizens tools to monitor performance, hold their elected leader accountable and ask for better services.  If you want citizens to trust in you, making these tools available is the start.

2. Lock in Open Government for the long haul:  I most certainly believe in and am a proponent of smaller government and less regulation; however, for transparency purposes we should continually push for local and statewide government transparency laws.  Strong laws can prevent future administrations in your local government offices including Clerk & Recorder from rolling back open government reforms.

3. Building Bridges, no Walls:  The El Paso County Clerk & Recorder's Office should not work alone to win back citizens' trust - but seek to partner with its residents.  Embracing partnership and strengthening collective decision making is key to driving successful open reforms.

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Ensure Government Efficiency and Fiscal Responsibility:

 

In 2020, there were a total of 261,000 recorded documents, marriage licenses, and copies made.  Nearly 48,000 driver's licenses were issued, over 550,000 license plates renewed, just about 165,000 titles issued, and virtually 84% of our registered voters voted in our last election.

 

Like your County Assessor's Office, the El Paso County Clerk & Recorder's Office is one of the busiest in the State, and it will require a candidate with the Experience, Leadership, Knowledge, and Commitment.

 

As your next Clerk & Recorder, I will continue to identify and implement new approaches to reduce costs and redundancy.  As our County Assessor, I implemented several changes that have reduced staffing levels by nearly 10% even during some of our unfortunate natural disasters,  during the hottest real estate market in the Nation, and through the ongoing COVID pandemic. Some of my ideas include:

 

• Not to be a typical cookie cutter office but to foster bold innovative ideas, and have customers and staff buy-in that there is potential to do so much more!

• Implement a detailed procedural and statistical audit within the Clerk's Office.

• Continue to cooperate with County Officials to implement job share opportunities for interested applicants.  The ability to share employees allows us to meet the needs of multiple offices without increasing cost to the taxpayer, or to our yearly budgets.

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Continually enhance the Clerk & Recorder's website:

 

Your Assessor's Office website receives nearly 49 million hits a year and is probably the most used site in El Paso County.  I can do the same with the Clerk's.

 

• I will continue my partnership with County Information Technology to further enhance the Clerk & Recorder's Office website, including Motor Vehicles, Elections, Recording, and Clerk to the Board.

• I will also implement a new visual mapping tool highlighting election results for all ballot measures from the precinct level to the county wide level in El Paso County.

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I will continue to be a consistent voice for our Seniors and Veterans:

 

As your next Clerk & Recorder, I will not forget about the advances we have made over the past couple of years regarding the Senior Homestead & Disabled Veteran Exemption Programs; however, there is still work to be done.  I recognize that I am applying to be your next Clerk, but first and foremost I am an elected representative of El Paso County and will continue the fight to ensure the necessary changes to these programs continue to move forward and become law on behalf of our citizens.

 

Never be satisfied with business as usual:

 

I am committed to serving the citizens of El Paso County with efficiency, dedication, and integrity.  Just as in the last eight years, I will be accountable and accessible to our county residents.