The Collin County Observer

News, Analysis & Opinion for Collin County

District Clerk: Candidate forum

02/02/10

01:43:46 am, by bill

, 192 words,

Categories: Observer Opinions, Politics, Elections

District Clerk: Candidate forum

One of the oddest bits of the Texas Constitution requires the election of a District Clerk. The District Clerk serves as clerk to all the 9 District Courts in Collin County. It also runs a passport office on Park Ln. in Plano.

When veteran District clerk Hannah Kunkle announced that she would not seek re-election, three Republican ladies filed to secure the GOP nomination to replace her.

Why it is an elective office is beyond me. The District Clerk does not make policy or make decisions that affect taxes or the lives of ordinary citizens. The District Judges and attorney's who use the clerk's office daily are interested in the outcome of this race, they want a friendly, efficient clerk's office. Other than them and the candidates' family and friends ( and a few party stalwarts), I know of no one who really has an opinion. So here is your chance to listen to and decide who you think will lead an efficient clerk's office.

Bill

Here are their opening remarks before the Collin County Conservative Club:

Patricia Crigger

Terrye Evans

Alma Hays

Permalink 23 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: COLLIN COUNTY ATTORNEY [Visitor]

Actually Bill, persons in the legal opinion have very strong opinions about this office - they always do. Just look at a. the canidate websites and b. the candidat campaign finance reports. Ask any attorney and they have an opinion, so I don't know why you haven't heard the buzz on this one - it is huge.

Also, there is a passport office at the district clerk's office in the courthouse in McKinney as well.

Crigger has my vote and the support of most of the legal community. Those of us who use the District Clerk's office want us to continue the effeciency that we enjoyed under Hannah Kunkle. Crigger has a proven record as her number 2.

Someday go to the Dallas County District Clerk's office and you can see how it personally affects you - the taxpayer. I don't want our clerk's office to be like the one in Dallas - vote Crigger.

Permalink 02/02/10 @ 06:34

Comment from: D Matlock [Visitor]

This is weird.

Permalink 02/02/10 @ 10:05

Comment from: visitor [Visitor]

I agree, it is weird for this to be an elected position.

However, I do have some concerns regarding conflict of interest for one of the candidates. My comments were not posted yesterday, so let me put it this way... the District Clerk has the authority to choose whether to use a bailiff as a process server or a certified private citizen. I would look very carefully into potential business opportunities and motivations for running for this office - and the occupation of the candidates' spouses.

Hope that's general enough to be posted, but I do understand Bill's concern about my more direct comments yesterday.

Permalink 02/02/10 @ 10:38

Comment from: Concerned Citizen [Visitor]

I'm very excited that we have someone who is looking to bring fresh ideas to the district clerk's office. Alma will bring a new and needed perspective to the clerk's office. Alma Hays has my vote.

Permalink 02/02/10 @ 17:23

Comment from: Tom Daley [Visitor]

Bill:

I'm surprised that a political junky like you doesn't know more about an office with 67 employees and a budget of $5MM.

The difference between the way the office runs in Collin County and the way it runs in other counties is immense. And it affects people every day--not just attorneys and judges.

I could give you examples from my own experience where the Collin County District Clerk's office has saved my clients substantial sums of money by catching and preventing mistakes from opposing counsel, which are not always caught in other counties and which I then have to fix by filing motions, getting hearings, and all the stuff that goes into correcting someone else's mistakes.

(In fact, in a previous version of this post, I gave examples but there was a problem in submitting it and, mercifully, I don't have the energy to do it again! LOL!)

And if it wasn't an elected position, who would it report in to? The county judge? That's the wrong answer. The administrative judge? Not a good answer either.

The office in Collin County works better than any other office I file in and the friendly, efficient service the clerks provide saves tax payers money and grief every day.

I'm supporting Patricia Crigger because I want the office to continue on its current course.

Permalink 02/02/10 @ 19:27

Comment from: bill [Member]

Tom and Collin County Attorney,

I did note that attorneys who practice before the District Courts were interested in the race. I also noticed that almost no one else cares.

What does the size of the department have to do with anything? Do we elect the Secretary of Defense?

The issue as I see it is that in a democracy we need to elect the policy makers, not the bureaucrats. Look at the GOP ballot -- I think there are around 60 candidates. Only a few positions on the ballot involve policy making functions, i.e., County Judge, Commissioners Court, State Legislature (and one could argue Appeals Courts).

The rest are technical, professional or bureaucratic. Why are we electing these folks? It's almost accidental if we actually elect the most qualified. Usually we get the connected, the popular, the best financed or the best campaigners.

In a county of over 700,000, less than 1,000 know or care who the County Clerk, District Clerk or Inspector of Hides.

Bill

Permalink 02/02/10 @ 22:57

Comment from: bill [Member]

Visitor,

I think you need to do a fact check. Nevertheless, I asked Ms. Hays to respond. She wrote,

1. This District Clerk has absolutely no control over who attorney's use to serve their court papers. Attorneys have two options. They can either pay the District Clerk to have the Constable do it or they can elect to have a private server who is on the Texas Supreme Court approved list serve the paper for them. Most attorneys have their own private server. You can verify that with any member of the Collin County Bar that practices family or civil law. The District Clerk has no input into which option that they take. If that were the case, Jerry Kunkle would have had a monopoly on the service of court papers in this County while Hannah was the District Clerk and my husband would have been out of business long ago.

2. My husbands market are private attorney's not the government.

3. My husband is the most senior private process server in Collin County. If his share of the market is larger than some other private servers it is only because he has been in business for 22 years and produces and outstanding work product.

Therefore, as even the most casual observer can see, no conflict exists between myself being the District Clerk and my husband being a process server. He has no advantage. This is yet another attempt ... to get the focus off of the real issue that Collin County taxpayers are concerned with, the lack of work hours being produced by the current Clerks office, and directing it to a contrived conspiracy theory.

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 00:50

Comment from: visitor [Visitor]

Thanks, Bill, for getting to the bottom of it - and also for posting Alma's response. I think it will be a service to all of your readers, as I've heard this discussed in several circles. I'm glad to know that Alma is running for the right reasons.

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 08:52

Comment from: Concerned Citizen [Visitor]

I have received an invitation to a coffee for Ms. Crigger and Mr. Muns which is being hosted by Jean Power and Tom Daley. Ms. Power ran against Kathy Ward and Tom Daley ran against Congressman Sam Johnson. Both as Democrats. Does this mean that Ms. Crigger is a Democrat?

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 12:18

Comment from: bill [Member]

Concerned Citizen's remarks are to the point on why using a partisan election to choose a District Clerk is idiotic (and can actually be counter productive).

Concerned Citizen ignores the fact that there is NO Democratic candidate and that both Mr. Daley and Ms. Power are local attorney's who practice before the District Courts and therefore have an opinion on who the best person is for the job.

Other than just throwing out gratuitous slams, I'm hard pressed to understand Concerned Citizen's motivation. Is he/she worried that somehow the Democrats are going to socialize the District Clerk's office?

Bill

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 12:50

Comment from: Davis Standard [Visitor]

Concerned Citizen, here's something to seriously ponder.

Scott Brown pulled off a huge upset in Mass. When the #s came in, it was very interesting to learn that over 12% of democrats in Mass voted for Brown (ep), does that mean Brown is a democrat?

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 12:52

Comment from: Concerned Collin County Attorney [Visitor]

I disagree with Collin County Attorney that “Crigger has ... the support of most of the legal community.” I checked the web sites of Patricia Crigger, Terrye Evans and Alma Hays, the three candidates running for District Clerk. Ms. Crigger is endorsed by 45 members of the legal community. Ms. Evans lists no endorsements at this time. Ms. Hays is endorsed by 76 attorneys and 45 legal assistants (total 121). A quick run of the numbers shows that 73% of those endorsements listed on any of the three relevant web sites are in support of Alma Hays.

Attorneys and legal assistants are the very people who utilize the services of the District Clerk’s office the most and who know how they want the office to be run. We should pay attention to the fact that 73% of those professionals caring to endorse someone in this race endorsed Alma Hays.

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 13:30

Comment from: CC Citizen [Visitor]

I certainly hope that Ms. Crigger and Ms. Evans have a greater command of English grammar and spelling than Ms. Hayes. This is a high paying position, and we need a professional to be elected to fill it.

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 16:39

Comment from: Susan [Visitor]

Concerned Citizen...
The invitation says County Clerk not District Clerk!
Please learn to read and please apologize to Mrs. Crigger!!

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 22:38

Comment from: Concerned Citizen [Visitor]

The Evite I received had Ms. Crigger's name included.

But my conviction stands. Ms. Hays will make an excellent District Clerk.

Permalink 02/03/10 @ 23:15

Comment from: Crigger Supporter [Visitor]

Ms. Hays seems to stuck on one mistaken point...her comment re: lack of work hours...I beg to differ, her statements regarding .02 million in revuenues lost equates roughly to $20,000 (i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong on the math!)where are her stats that equates that figure directly to the office closing at 4:30? Maybe it could just be the economy. The private sector hours are for the most part 8-5 just like the county. So who's to say that staying open until 5 would bring in more anyway? There are people who work in that office that stay pass 5:00 now to work, lack of hours and ethics are not an issue. I myself have been the cause of at least one instance where I was serviced well pass the 5:00 hour and it was done with a smile and excellent service, even though they close the doors at 4:30 make no mistake they are still working and they have never to my knowledge refused an emergency filing. To say that the 1/2 closing at 4:30 will be her biggest change is not saying much--is that all she has? And as for the endorsements of all the legal assistants--wonder how many of them are just going along with whatever their bosses choices are? There is a reason the office closes at 4:30 to do the books they work within the system they are now using--check into that and then post another reason besides just trying to make it look like a lack of work hours.....

Permalink 02/04/10 @ 05:55

Comment from: Hays Supporter [Visitor]

Crigger Supporter, yes, your math is poor. The number that you are quoting should be 0.2 million not .02 million. That would be $200,000 and not $20,000. Check the Auditors report closer. Now, lets take a look at the half hour a day that you don't seem to feel makes any difference. Accounting for five work days during a 52 week calendar year, the loss of a half hour per work day would total 130 working hours per year. If we subtract a half hour from that total for each of the eleven holidays that the county takes, that would leave us with a total of 124.5 work hours that the District Clerk is closed to the public each year. If we use an eight hour work day as our constant, that would total 15.56 work days that the office is closed to the public or three full work weeks. I have found in my business that the more I am open and working, the more money I tend to make. Seems like pretty simple math to me. We keep Ms. Crigger, the County makes less money. We elect Ms. Hays, the County makes more money.

Permalink 02/04/10 @ 10:12

Comment from: Susan [Visitor]

Mrs. Crigger has her own fundraiser (coffee) that night. She has no connection to this Democrat fundraiser for a so-called conservative MUNS!
The evite clearly says judges and county clerk......
By the way JB you should be ashamed of yourself!

Permalink 02/04/10 @ 13:17

Comment from: visitor [Visitor]

As a Collin County tax payer, I want someone that can run the District Clerks office with proven experience. As I have read the financial reviews of the canidates, Mrs. Hays is the last one that needs to be elected to the District Clerk position. The Clerk is responsible for a 5mm dollar budget annually and she is already exceeded her contributions and has taken out loans, so far up to $50,000.00 to cover her campaign. Also, if she is elected as District Clerk, who will run the office, her or her power driven husband? And if Mrs. Hays is of the opinion that anyone that serves more than 1 term is a long term bureaucrat does this mean that she is only going to run 1 term, and since when does working 6 months, 20yrs ago qualify having the expierence needed to run the Clerks office. Do we need a Clerk that sends out campaign letters to registered voters saying "sexy" in them (that doesn't sound like something a conservative christian would say). All I can say is that Patricia Crigger is the most expierenced canidate for this race. Her ethics, values, morals, expierence, and EDUCATION far exceed those of the other canidates. Please go to www.votecrigger.com to read about her.

Permalink 02/04/10 @ 15:02

Comment from: Visitor [Visitor]

I thought I also saw on one of Ms. Hays' propaganda pieces that it was .02 million--maybe a typo- also----anyway, how do we know still that the amount is directly attributed to the 4:30 closing, recession started about 2 yrs ago, business ain't what it used to be no matter how many more hours are being put in as we all can see by establishments closing doors all around us. I do appreciate the numbers that were given by the Hays supporter but can somebody do the math on the other side and give us some numbers on what it would cost the county to have however many workers stay past 6:00 pm, it's my understanding comp time comes out of budget and overtime has to be authorized in advanced, so she wants to stagger hours, i'm curious as to what the auditor will say bout costs for that. Isn't there an additional costs for after 6:00 pm some sort of differential pay?

Permalink 02/05/10 @ 05:46

Comment from: Hays Supporter [Visitor]

Visitor, do you understand how your comments reek of the desperation of both yourself and your candidate? You can't seem to win the argument based on the merit of your case, therefore you reduce yourself to making personal attacks on Ms. Hays and her husband. Can we just stick to the issues? Your complaint that Ms. Hays cannot manage a budget simply because she has spent more money than she has raised is without merit. You have no idea what the budget for her campaign is. Further, you ignore the fact that all of the loans that have been made to her campaign were made by she and her husband to her campaign. Does it offend you that they have the money to loan her campaign or is it the fact that they are committed enough to her campaign to make the loan? As I recall, Suzanne Wooten did the same thing when she defeated Charles Sandoval for the 380th bench. I did not see you complaining then. I have absolutely no idea where you are going with the one term limit comment. You might want to try that one again. The last time that I checked, the word sexy, when being used properly, is not considered a dirty word. However, I guess that when you take it out of context as you have, you may make the reach. Finally, the Clerks office can, I repeat, can stay open to the public until 5 p.m. without creating overtime or requiring comp time on the part of the staff. Ms. Hays' idea for utilizing flex hours by the staff to cover the hours of operation would preclude anyone having to work overtime. The staff may not like it, but the public (taxpayers) will love it.

Permalink 02/05/10 @ 12:38

Comment from: LV [Visitor]

· http://www.thelvdgroup.com

All of this commentary for a position that shouldn't even be on the ballot. It doesn't influence policy or anything else...just a plain administrative Jane/John Doe role. Oh yeah but it adds efficency. It's Like voting for Sarah Palin for president..yikes...I can see Russia from my Texas bedroom.

Wow...you small town lack of any type of culture individuals scare me.

The Lone Star State at it its best. Can't wait for the changing demographics to come. Then maybe we can get some real intelligent individuals across the state on the ballots. Texas elections are an extension of the popular versus the unpopluar kids in high school.

Still playing small minded politics and the popular good ole boy and girls club...get beyond high school pettiness please..

Thank God...I have seen and experienced life outside of Texas. Look out Folks more intelligent people like myself are coming here and things will change. Maybe not today but in the near future.

My commentary probably will not get posted because I'm speaking the truth "And" there are conversations being held out there about the ignorance of this county with regards to changing demographics and a more diverse popoulation. "And" you folks are still living in the J. Edgar Hoover and George Wallace eras...

And if you tell me to leave if I don't like it well, hate to disappoint you. I'm not leaving because change is right around the corner. It just hasn't registered with you folks yet.

Permalink 02/20/10 @ 19:52

Comment from: t5axeman [Visitor]

· http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy/?ocid=PID27147::T:SIGN:ON:WL:en-us::WM_WMP:032010

Hmmm…. The voters of this county have spoken and RIGHT candidate won! Not by slinging information that was inaccurate or inaccurate, but based on historical data and a record of success. For everyone that believed the negative information that was posted or said about Ms. Crigger or the District Clerks Office please take another look. IT WAS WRONG! And thankfully the voters in Collin county was able to see thru the smoke of trying to buy an election.

(2010 GOP Primary run-off: Campaign Finance Reports - In the district Clerk's contest, Alma Hays spent $10,677 to Patricia Crigger's expenditures of $6,900. Hays reported loans of $63,000, while Crigger listed only $2,500.)

It is a encouraging to see that truth wins over lies and buying votes!

Permalink 04/14/10 @ 11:04

The Collin County Observer

You can observe a lot by just watching.
Yogi Berra

It is my hope that this forum will serve as an acute observer of Collin County government, leading to the return of the county to those it is supposed to serve.

I will post my opinions, fair analysis, news clippings that are relevant to local issues, and your comments.

To post your comment, you may register, or you may post anonymously. Comments will be reviewed before being placed online.

Comments that I consider inappropriate will be deleted, and the commentator warned. All I ask is that discussions remain civil and courteous. The standard for comments here is "common courtesy".

Subscribers will receive an email whenever a new blog entry is posted.

Bill Baumbach

Find more discussion of CCO topics on The Collin County Observer Facebook Group.

TESTIMONIALS

"Love you to death Bill, but you're like a hemmoroid that keeps swelling and won't go away."
Rick Neudorff, past Chair Collin County GOP

"Your premise is wrong, as it often is."
John R. Roach, Collin County District Attorney

The Collin County Observer

District Clerk: Candidate forum

02/02/10

District Clerk: Candidate forum

Comments, Pingbacks:

Leave a comment:

The Collin County Observer

Recent Posts

Search

Categories

Files and Links

2006 Bill's Campaign for County Commissioner

County Government

Voting Rights & Education

Indigent Legal Defense

Indigent Healthcare

Texas Legislature

Texas Blogs

Commissioners Blogs

Mobility

2007 Bond Election

2008 Budget

Collin County Discussion Boards

Courts & Judiciary

Collin County Info & Stuff

Community Life, Art & Assistance

News Media

Financial Transparency

2009 Budget

Families & Children

Demographics

2010 Budget

Public Meeting Broadcasts & Videos

2010 Election

2010 Finance Reports

Misc

XML Feeds

Who's Online?

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
<< <				> >>
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31