Published: October 26, 2008 09:10 pm         

Moye, Paitsel vie for County Clerk position

PRINCETON — Two Princeton residents are on the ballot in the race for Mercer County Clerk this November.

The Democratic candidate, Verlin T. Moye, was appointed to the county clerk’s post by the Mercer County Commission after the retirement of longtime clerk Rudolph Jennings. On the Republican ticket is Tammy Paitsel, formerly Tammy Overbaugh of the Montcalm area. Both Moye and Paitsel answered questions submitted by the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

Moye, who said he was born in Princeton, attended Thorn School, Princeton Senior High School, and received a Bachelor’s and Associate’s of Science degrees from Bluefield State College.

“I’ve also completed studies with the Mosley Flint School of Appraisal, supervisory training at Glenville State, mapping and GIS seminars at WVU and the West Virginia State Tax Department,” Moye said. “I’ve also completed training sponsored by the International Association of Assessing Officers and the Life Underwriter Council.”

Moye said he has been a licensed insurance agent since 1989 and completes continuing education requirements every other year.

“I’m trained and experienced in data processing, personnel management, finance and economics and am familiar with the County Clerk staff, their duties, responsibilities and the overall strengths and weaknesses of the office in general,” Moye said. “I have the experience, education and drive to set and achieve the certain goals that will be needed to run the day-to-day business of the clerk’s office while at the same time looking at new ways to improve the office.”

Paitsel said she is a lifelong resident of Mercer County who has obtained three college degrees.

“I have an Associate in Secretarial Science, and Associate of Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, all from Bluefield State College,” she said. “I have more than 16 years of accounting and office experience. I graduated from Montcalm High School in 1988. I look forward to be able to put my education, experience and fresh new ideas to work for the good people of Mercer County.”

When asked about how the clerk’s office could be made more accessible to the public, Paitsel said the office is inaccessible due to limited parking, so an inquiry into additional parking “may be very beneficial to the courthouse.” She also said she would make the office more accessible through the Internet.

“I would also research options to give the residents limited accessibility to records from a county website,” Paitsel said. “The website also could give general information about most commonly asked questions.”

When the candidates were asked about the clerk office’s accessibility, Moye said in his replies: “Our future involves creating a web page so that the public can access certain information easier.” Creating a Clerk’s Office Web Page would be on step in modernizing the county clerk’s office, he said.

Moye said he would also modernize the clerk’s office by adding more work stations, continuing and increasing the “back-scanning processes” for records, and continue overall office efficiency studies.

On the issue of updating the clerk’s office, Paitsel said she would “move the courthouse into the 21st Century as far as technology by digitizing records for more efficient accessibility, whether it be a lawyer researching deeds or maps or a citizen who needed a birth certificate.”

“Also, the recent purchase of a Canon microfilm scanner is a very positive step in the right direction in the security of files and the ease at which they can be accessed,” Paitsel said.

In the subject of elections and ensuring that results are tabulated and distributed in a timely manner of election nights, Moye said this would be done “through more training, better planning, better scheduling and improved crowd/traffic control.”

Paitsel said that expert training is the key in the accuracy and timeliness of the election results.

“If the poll workers are properly trained and informed as to what is to be expected of them, the election result process should be streamlined,” Paitsel said. “That goal can be achieved with the knowledge and expertise of the Secretary of State Office’s highly skilled field agents’ help.”

On the topic of making the county’s departments more financially efficient, Moye said he would work to “set budgets, stay within them, (and) continue to look for more efficient ways to operate. Eliminate duplicate efforts and unnecessary paperwork, etc. Never forget that pennies make dollars.”

Paitsel said she would evaluate each department individually to see that it is properly staffed, trained and well equipped to perform the duties that are expected of them. She said she would also oversee that the office is running in an efficient and cost effective manner.

When asked about how more residents could be encouraged to register to vote, Paitsel said: “More information needs to publicized as to the different ways a person can register to vote, such as on-line, by mail, and, of course, by going to the courthouse. Most people I have come in contact with are not aware that those options are available.”

“I feel that continuing to advertise is important as well as educating our youth earlier about the importance of the voting process is important also,” Moye said about voter registration. “Not only do you need to register, you need to educate yourself on the candidates, then most importantly, vote!”

     

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