Last year, more than 50,000 motor vehicle transactions were conducted, 840 birth and 1,794 death certificates were issued and 186 marriage licenses and eight civil unions were recorded. Needless to say, the Montezuma County clerk and recorders office is busy.
Unaffiliated clerk and recorder candidate Judy Marquez, 56, and Republican candidate Kim Percell, 54, both responded to a fi-ve-question survey by theCortez Journal. One question asked the candidates to list the busy office’s top needs.
“The top three needs would be cross-training, retaining experienced staff and to improve public relations,” Marquez said. “When there is heavy foot traffic in the clerk’s office and not enough personnel to service those customers, it creates tension.”
“One of our needs will be to keep all departments updated and trained on new regulations,” Percell said. “I think cross-training within departments would help alleviate long lines during especially busy days.”
The candidates were also questioned about their thoughts on transitioning from the traditional polling place to a mail-in ballot system.
“Mail-in ballots get to the voters earlier, they can study the issues, take their time and not be rushed,” said Marquez. “The downside to the mail-in ballot is people forget to return them before the deadline.”
“While some voters will be comfortable with this change, others have shown concerns,” said Percell. “The new required vote polling service centers should help ease some of those concerns as voters will have access to them for several days prior to and on election day.”
To view each of the candidate’s surveys in their entirety, visit cortezjournal.com.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com