Clark County, Ill. — A political veteran seeking re-election as the circuit clerk in Clark County, Ill., is facing a challenger who, while he has never held public office, is a familiar name in the Democratic Party.
Republican Terri Davison Reynolds, 51, has served as circuit clerk for the past 20 years and spent more than 10 years working in the office before elected.
“I feel comfortable in my job and I enjoy it,” she said. “Things are always changing with the new laws and it keeps you learning.”
Reynolds’ Democratic challenger, Tim Bloodworth, 49, doesn’t deny that Reynolds has experience on her side, but feels there are some shortcomings in the office he could fix, if elected, he said.
“I would like to see the staff better cross-trained,” Bloodworth said, because people complained that the person needed is out of the office when they take time from work to go to the office. If more people were cross-trained, Bloodworth said that would be less of a problem.
Another solution he offered was extending office hours.
“If we need to be open an hour later one night a week to accommodate people, it could be managed,” he said. “The office could be managed a lot better … the leadership could be stronger and needs to be stronger.”
Because the office is small, Reynolds said to switch people from job to job could make room for mistakes, and the office budget doesn’t allow for hiring more people.
“… The laws are always changing, and so we have one person that tries to stay up with the laws in the area of the office that they’re working in,” she said. “… We just don’t have the time and we don’t have the staff.”
As far as customer service criticism, Reynolds said many people go to the clerk’s office asking for legal advice and “we’re not attorneys … and we can’t give them that legal advice, and they get upset thinking that we’re being rude.”
With the circuit clerk’s office responsible for many “not pleasant things” such as paying traffic fees and child support, Reynolds said, it can sometimes not be a cheerful place for people because they’re “usually handing money over.”
Having owned his own business for more than 20 years, Bloodworth said he’s worked with “every kind of customer you can imagine.”
Other plans Bloodworth has for the office, if elected, include updating technology to allow people to pay their bills online or allowing lawyers to obtain files via e-mail, he said.
“It may cost something up front, but could save money,” he said.
Since taking office, Reynolds has had a new electronic filing system installed and recently got all court records online by using Judici, she said. She said she tries to add one new thing to the system every year.
“Everything is always changing,” she said about why she likes her job. “No two days ever seem to be the same; you always have different situations.”
Though this would be a major career change for Bloodworth, if elected, he said he welcomes it and is ready.
“I know if elected, the transition will be an eye-opener and a huge learning experience,” he said, “but I have the ability to learn quick and grasp things.”
Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.
Election 2008
October 11, 2008
Clark County Circuit Clerk Election Preview
- Election 2008
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Vigo County election results
More than 44,000 ballots were cast Tuesday of the nearly 80,000 registered voters, giving Vigo County a 55.76 percent voter turnout. Voters who cast provisional ballots have until noon Nov. 14 to show proper identification in the clerk’s office. Members of the Election Board will certify the results by the end of Nov. 14.
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Obama triumphs, will be first black U.S. president
Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation’s first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself. “Change has come,” he told a huge throng of jubilant supporters.
- Ellsworth downs Goode in District 8 In a strong Democratic election year, U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth was re-elected Tuesday to a second term as the 8th District congressman representing southwestern and western Indiana.
- House District 44: Former Greencastle major wins A former Greencastle mayor will head off to the Statehouse come January, and she said Tuesday night she’s ready to go.
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YOUTH VOTE: Sarah Scott students elect Obama, Daniels
Tribune-Star
Students and staff at Sarah Scott Middle School voted to make Barack Obama president and Mitch Daniels governor during a mock election Tuesday. - Vigo picks presidential winner again Vigo County voters chose Democrat Sen. Barack Obama as president, maintaining its status as a “bellwether” county, picking the winner in every presidential election since 1892 with only two exceptions.
- Harrison Township opts to keep assessor Voters in eight precincts in Harrison Township opted to retain a township assessor under a referendum vote on Tuesday’s election ballot. That’s was good news to Mick Love, who will retain his elected seat as Harrison Township assessor. The final tally on Public Question No. 1 was 6,587 for a “yes,” which would remove the office, to 9,506 for “no” which would retain the office.
- House District 46: Tincher pulls out win The race between Democrat incumbent Rep. Vern Tincher and Republican challenger Bob Heaton for the Indiana House District 46 seat went down to the wire Tuesday night, with Tincher pulling out a win.
- Republican Daniels wins 2nd term as Indiana governor Republican Mitch Daniels defeated former Democratic congresswoman Jill Long Thompson on Tuesday to win a second term as governor, but he may need a supply of olive branches to advance his agenda if Democrats retain control of the Indiana House.
- House District 45: Borders wins close race The Indiana House District 45 race between incumbent Republican Bruce Borders and Democrat Rick Marshall was too close to call for much of the evening Tuesday, with the final outcome apparent near midnight.
- House District 43: Kersey remains in seat Rep. Clyde Kersey, D-Terre Haute, will remain in the Indiana General Assembly for another two years, as the 12-year incumbent defeated Republican challenger Ryan Cummins for the House District 43 seat.
- Clay County's turnout one for record books Clay County’s voter turnout was one for the record books, officials said Tuesday evening.
- Parke County incumbents retain their seats Parke County incumbents retained their seats in Tuesday’s election. Republican County At-large Councilmen Dale Gerrish and John Pratt will be joined by fellow Republican J.B. Butler, a newcomer who received more votes than Gerrish and Pratt. The three GOP candidates won over the three Democrats in that race.
- Nearly 64 percent of registered Vermillion voters cast ballots Vermillion County voters turned out in big numbers Tuesday to hand victories to Democrats up and down the ballot. Nearly 64 percent of registered voters turned out in the mostly rural county, which includes the towns of Clinton and Newport.
- Sullivan County votes Repbulican in national election For the second time in its traditionally Democratic history, Sullivan County voted Republican in the national election. Overall, Democrats saw unexpected upsets, incumbent Republicans lost a few offices, and voter turnout here was exceptionally high, as expected.
- Indiana State students await impact of their votes Ashley Roce sat in the Cunningham Memorial Library eating pizza with her friends, waiting to see the impact of her first vote in a presidential election.
- Indiana transplants watch from east coast Indiana has done what couldn’t have been predicted in 2004: It has gone Blue — and by so doing, the Hoosier state has broken its 44-year tradition of being a Red state, and helped put a Democrat in the White House.
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Voter turnout in Clark County, Ill., highest it's ever been
Voter turnout in Clark County, Ill., was the largest it has ever been, but it wasn’t as high as County Clerk Bill Downey had hoped for.
- Presidential election turnout down in Edgar County Despite an increase in registered voters for Tuesday’s election, turnout was lower than the last presidential election in Edgar County, Ill.
- Incumbents easily win school board seats Three Vigo County School Board incumbents readily won re-election Tuesday. In District 1, Mel Burks and Jackie Lower retained their seats, defeating Larry Faulkner. In unofficial results, Lower had 24,321 votes, Burks, 19,253, and Faulkner, 11,383.
- Democratic Commissioner Mason gets another four years Vigo County voters on Tuesday returned Democratic Commissioner Paul Mason for an additional four-year term as one of the county’s top executive officials.
- Rader wins Vigo judge Superior Court Divisioin 5 The winner of Vigo County judge for Superior Court Division 5 is Dr. Michael Rader. With 23,636 votes, or 56 percent, Rader defeated Republican challenger Dan Kelly, who earned 18,216 votes, or 44 percent. Totals are unofficial results from the Vigo County Election office.
- Allsup defeats Royer in Vigo Recorder race In a night that was friendly to Democrats, Nancy Allsup won the office of Vigo County Recorder, defeating Republican Bruce Royer. Allsup, with 26,486 votes, or 65 percent, celebrated her victory Tuesday night with friends and family at the Paradise Pavilion in West Terre Haute.
- Mansard wins another term as Vigo County clerk Democrat Patricia “Pat” Mansard has won another term as Vigo County clerk. Mansard, who has served as county clerk for 20 years, was busily working Tuesday night to finish up election results, but she took a minute to savor her win.
- FINAL: VIGO COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Final election night results from Vigo County
- FINAL: VERMILLION COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS 2008 Election results from Vermillion County
- FINAL: CLAY COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Election results from across Clay County
- FINAL: PARKE COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Election results from Parke County
- FINAL: SULLIVAN COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS 2008 Results from Sullivan County
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NEW: Vigo County’s election record cited by Karl Rove
Karl Rove, the man credited with orchestrating President George W. Bush’s two successful campaigns for the presidency, reportedly singled out Vigo County as a place to watch tonight when election returns start coming in.
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