Candidate for
Recorder-Clerk; County of El Dorado

I was elected as El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk in 1995 and re-elected in 1999. I am asking to be re-elected on March 5, 2002, so that I can continue to bring excellent service to the public. Since taking office in January 1995, I have instituted many technological advances in the office to enhance service to the public. An award winning Website provides access to our indexes from your home or office and online PC terminals in our office. This also allows other county offices to have instant access to all those documents.

This office performs many services including recording, filing and safekeeping of documents establishing ownership of land in the county, as well as those pertaining to liens or encumbrances on land. We register and file marriage, birth and death certificates; financial statements and related papers required by the uniform commercial code. The Recorder-Clerk also administers the real property transfer tax law.

In 1990, the offices of the County Recorder and County Clerk were integrated into one office. The Clerk portion of the office performs functions such as marriage license issuance, confidential marriage notary licensing, and civil marriage ceremonies. We process passport applications, ficititious business name statements, and the licensing of photocopier,process server and unlawful detainer assistant.

One of the goals I set when elected was making the office more technologically efficient. This has been accomplished by installing a completely new computer system that includes recording, indexing, imaging and cashiering. The results have been dramatic. Documents now have preprinted, bar-coded labels which enhance not only the way we do business in the office, but the way the public now has access to this information.

In cooperation with the Information Services Department, the Recorder-Clerk website was created in October 1999. This site offers many features such as being able to look up birth, deaths, public marriages and fictitious business names. The site is an index of all recorded documents, including over 18,000 maps, that have been recorded dating since the year 1850. California law prevents placing images on the internet, but the indexes provide a wealth of information. The website has received two awards: in August 2001, Dottie Awards finalist in the category Government & Law, Northern California; and in December, the 2001-2002 Golden Web Award.

I am seeking re-election because I have a real desire to ensure the public continues to be served in an efficient and economical manner. I have been in supervisory or leadership positions for over 30 years. I enjoy helping solve problems and providing leadership as a public servant. There is a need to continue staying current with technology and utilizing those features that enable cost-effective applicatons which allow easy public access to the recorded documents.

I am currently on the Legislative Committee for the California Recorders Association, having served as cochairman of that committee for the last two years. In this capacity I have had the opportunity to help formulate policy through the State legislature.

During the calendar year 2001, the office recorded 86,369 documents breaking a previous high of 82,000 recorded documents. This was accomplished with no additional staff by the implementation of modern technology and training. In addition, the Recorder-Clerk website has been accessed over 580,000 times to date.