County Clerk Candidate

Questions & Answers

What is the importance of the County Clerk to your constituents?

The County Clerk's office is of tremendous importance in multiple ways depending on what type of services constituents need from us. First and foremost, our office acts as the Election Authority for Champaign County. We oversee all of the elections for the County and ensure that citizens can cast their votes securely and efficiently in a manner which instills confidence in the system. Additionally, our office handles all vital records for the county. It is our job to make sure that customers can access their birth, death and marriage records when needed. People want to be sure that their records are handled with care and are offered multiple ways to request and receive them in a manner that is cost-effective, not only for them, but the taxpayers as well. Taxing districts also rely on our office to ensure that their tax extension rates are calculated correctly as well as to file their levies, budgets and audits to meet statutory requirements.

Why are you qualified to be the County Clerk?

I have spent the last three and a half years as the Director of Training in the Champaign County Clerk's Office for current Clerk Gordy Hulten. I have helped to oversee the last six elections in Champaign County, including the largest election in County history (November 2016) to ensure a positive customer experience for each and every voter. I have trained over 3000 Election Judges to make sure elections run smoothly. I have worked each and every day the last three and a half years with my colleagues in the office to continue to build on the high-level of service that people have come to expect from the County Clerk's office, not only in terms of election administration, but also vital records and the property tax cycle. As a member of the management team at the County Clerk's office, I have played an active role in the day-to-day operations of the office as well as assisting in guiding the office through ever-changing state mandates and changes in election law.

What is a key policy difference between you and your Primary Opponent?

The key difference is that I believe that experience matters when looking at candidates for public office. Government should be about the ability to do the job itself first, and everything else second. The only way to fix issues in government at every level is to continue to elect people that know how to do the day-to-day job of the office they are running for. If we want our government to run like a business we must start hiring like a business, with experience and qualifications taking precedence over everything else.

Is there anything else you would like to say to an undecided voter in Champaign County?

I was born and raised in Champaign County and had the values of hard work and service instilled in me at an early age. I hope to continue to utilize these values to serve your needs as the next Champaign County Clerk.

The local News-Gazette has another questionnaire with both Republican County Clerk candidates.

You can find it: here.

Both Republican candidates for County Clerk participated in a Question and Answers session with the Active Senior Republicans.

Watch the video: here.

Both Republican candidates also did a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters.

Watch that video: here.