Three look to fill Superior Court clerk post

By Marcy Stamper
    There are three candidates vying for the post of Okanogan County Superior Court clerk, the only county race to be decided in next month’s primary election.
    The Superior Court clerk is the administrative and financial officer for the court and is responsible for court records, managing the jury system, and for providing access to public court records. The Superior Court handles all criminal cases, juvenile delinquency and matters relating to guardianship and adoption. The clerk also manages office staff and oversees the budget.
    Jackie Bradley, court clerk since 1972, is not running for re-election.

    Cindy Gagne is office manager for the Okanogan branch of Armada Corporation, a collections agency. Gagne is also the mayor of Omak and was formerly on the Omak City Council. Before that she worked as the Okanogan County district court clerk, with responsibility for documentation and record keeping.
    As mayor, Gagne is responsible for budgeting and for ensuring that department heads comply with city policies and procedures. She is also a member of the Colville Tribal Bar Association. Gagne said she stresses teamwork, respectful communication and transparency.
    Gagne favors having the county outsource the collections of fines. Outsourcing the collections process could be done at no cost to the county through a provision in state law that permits a collections agency to add a fee to the fine, to be paid by the person who owes the money, she said. Typical fees range from 25 to 33 percent of the total due, according to Gagne.
    Gagne predicted that outsourcing all collections to a professional would increase the rate of success and free up county funds currently spent on wages and benefits.
    Gagne prefers the Democratic Party.

    Charleen Groomes worked in the office of the Okanogan County Superior Court for 10 years, handling records, court calendars and minutes and jurors. For the past 20 years, she has been the supervisor in the vehicle-licensing department of the county auditor’s office, overseeing a staff and four satellite offices.
    Groomes has been the union shop steward at the county for the past two decades, handling salary negotiations with the commissioners.
    Groomes said her primary focus as clerk would be to come up with a better system of collecting fines issued by the court. She wants to improve the collection of and disbursement of restitution payments by assigning an employee to the task full-time. She would keep people informed about the status of their payments to make debtors more accountable, rather than assigning an account to a collection agency, she said.
    Groomes favors cross-training the court staff so that everyone in the office could switch duties as necessary. She also wants to explore the possibility of reorganizing tasks in the department for greater efficiency and to avoid overtime.
    She said it is important to upgrade the technology and systems in use in the office, but recognizes that “it will take baby steps.”
    Groomes prefers the Republican Party.

    Rae Jean Kelley has worked in law offices as a legal secretary, paralegal and as office manager for three decades. Currently office manager and a paralegal for the law offices of Douglas G. Webber, Kelley does legal research, negotiates contracts and handles billing. She also prepares documents for court appearances and has assisted at trials.
    Kelley is a director on the Okanogan County School Board and is a member of Soroptimist International, a professional women’s organization, which she has served in all officer positions.
    Kelley sets two priorities for the clerk: establishing a designated, full-time collections officer so that the county can be more aggressive in collecting debts by reminding debtors and setting up payment plans; and implementing an electronic filing system for court documents.
    Converting to electronic records storage and retrieval would be more cost-effective and more confidential than the paper-based system, in terms of staff time and supplies, she said.
    Kelley said she has worked with the Superior Court for 30 years so is very familiar with its system and has established good working relationships with the judge and staff. She plans to draw on the experiences of clerks in Chelan and Douglas counties for assistance with collections and with document software.
    Kelley prefers the Republican Party.

    All three candidates spoke of the need to improve the collections both of court-ordered fines owed to the county and of restitution owed to victims.
    Outstanding financial and legal obligations and restitution currently exceed $13 million, according to Jana Dieter, accounting clerk for the Superior Court. More than half – about $8.7 million – is restitution due crime victims; the rest is to reimburse the county for the public defender and court and jail fees. Part of Dieter’s duties includes collecting these fines, she said.
    More than 1,100 fines and restitution orders have been assigned to a collection agency because they are more than 90 days past due, totaling more than $8 million, said Dieter.

Top 2 primary gives voters a choice
By Marcy Stamper
    Washington’s unique Top 2 primary is getting its second run in Okanogan County next month, propelling the two candidates who receive the most votes – regardless of party preference – to the general election in November.
    While the basic principle is straightforward, some ballot choices and language may be confusing. The only offices to appear on this primary ballot are partisan offices (which in fact constitute the majority of the positions up for re-election).
    Beyond statewide offices – for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Patty Murray (15 candidates) and the U.S. Representative seat held by Cathy McMorris Rodgers (six candidates) – the only county race with more than two contenders is the Superior Court Clerk. Cindy Gagne, Charleen Groomes and Rae Jean Kelley are vying for that position, and the primary will narrow the field to two. There are also three candidates running for one of the Supreme Court Justice spots.
    In all other races with only two candidates, both names will appear again on the general election ballot, although perhaps in a different order, since in November the top vote-getter gets listed first. On the primary ballot, the state and county determine candidate order by drawing lots. Incumbents for county auditor and assessor, both running unopposed, also carry forward to the general election.
    The contest between Becki Andrist and Jim DeTro for the seat being vacated by county commissioner Mary Lou Peterson will not appear on the primary ballot for Methow Valley voters because only voters in District 3 are entitled to vote in the primary. All county voters may vote for commissioner in the general election.
    The Okanogan County Public Utility District commissioner (incumbent Ernie Bolz is running unopposed) – is nonpartisan and therefore will not appear on the ballot until the general election.
    Still, Washington’s primary is not strictly partisan. Candidates may state a party preference, but that does not imply an endorsement or nomination by the party, nor that the party approves of or associates with the candidate.
    Compared with Twitter’s generous 140-character limit, the 16 characters candidates may use to describe the party they prefer may feel restrictive. But candidates are not restricted to established major or minor parties – they can state a preference for novel parties such as the No New Taxes Party, an example provided by the Washington Secretary of State.
    To add to the confusion, the primary ballot serves as the only and final ballot for precinct committee officers, who engage in education and recruitment for the Democratic and Republican parties. These posts are officially partisan and voters must state they consider themselves to be a member of the party to vote in that race.
    All candidates for precinct officer must file a declaration of candidacy or officially declare as a write-in candidate by the day before the election. Anyone who has not submitted a declaration cannot be elected, even if that person receives the largest number of votes, according to election administrator Mila Jury.
    Ballots will be mailed Thursday (July 29). Anyone not currently registered to vote in Washington has until Aug. 9 to register in person for the primary. The primary is Aug. 17.

Photo, L-R: Cindy Gagne, Charleen Groomes and Rae Jean Kelley are vying to fill the post of Okanogan County Superior Court Clerk. The position has been held by Jackie Bradley for 38 years.