Legally Speaking: Meet the candidates, Part 1: County clerk

By John G. Browning

It’s shaping up to be an exciting election year in Rockwall County.

Seven locally elected positions will feature Republican primary races this spring, as well as the contest for our area’s state Senate seat between incumbent Bob Deuell and challenger Tim McCallum. While all of these elections are important for Rockwall County, three have a direct impact on our legal system: The race for county clerk, as well as the races for justice of the peace for Precincts 1 and 4 and Precincts 2 and 3.

Beginning with this week’s column, we will try to provide you with some insight into these races by introducing you to each of these candidates.

The office of county clerk is charged with the responsibility of maintaining records (such as deeds, liens and plats of land), issuing marriage licenses and certificates and recording filings for probate court and county court at law. The county clerk also records the minutes of the Commissioners Court.

With the retirement of longtime Rockwall County Clerk Paulette Burks, four candidates have emerged to vie for this post in the Republican primary: Buford Waldrop, a local attorney and former county commissioner; Marcia Gilbert, former president of a title company and longtime volunteer; Lisa Constant, an assistant auditor for Rockwall County; and Patty Griffin, a paralegal, court reporter and former county court administrator.

On the belief that nothing will acquaint you with the candidates quite like hearing their own words, I sent each candidate an identical set of questions. Here are their responses.

Question 1: Please provide a brief statement of your background and the qualifications that you believe you possess for the office.

Buford Waldrop: “I am a practicing attorney with cases in the County Court at Law, thus I have hands-on experience with all documents and filing proceedings. I have served as commissioner of Precinct 3 and have a working knowledge of the system. I have been a real estate broker and filed and researched many records maintained by the county clerk. I served as a city manager and am familiar with plats of subdivisions and filing requirements. I am a servant and desire to serve the public as they transact business in the county clerk’s office.”

Marcia Gilbert: “The county clerk must be someone who is organized, thorough and efficient. While serving as a national bank examiner for the U.S. comptroller of the currency, I conducted over 100 public hearings for new bank charters — interacting with attorneys, accountants, economists and bankers; supervised an efficient staff; demonstrated an understanding of banking laws and regulations; and established processing systems for documentation storage and usage. As a ‘volunteer’ in Rockwall County, I have been elected to positions of leadership and responsibility by numerous organizations … my experience as president of a title company aids in my understanding of the filing of official instruments.”

Lisa Constant: “I am currently an assistant auditor for Rockwall County; I understand county budgeting and bookkeeping which is important in this position since it is a large budget … I have a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Texas at Arlington. I work closely with Paulette Burks, other departments’ employees and elected officials to maintain continuity between our departments, and therefore I have a good understanding of her office, staff and its functions. From my experience with the Rockwall County Library, I bring my organizational and customer service skills.”

Patty Griffin: “I am a trained paralegal, court reporter and past county court administrator. The county clerk must be able to interpret and apply changes in the law as they relate to the office. My legal training ensures that the county clerk’s office would be able to stay on top of these changes and comply with the letter of the law. The county clerk office is a record keeping office. [As] a state certified court reporter for more than 23 years, I have been a professional keeper of the record. I know how to preserve and protect Rockwall County’s records. I am familiar with the indexing and filing systems … . For more than six years, I served as the court coordinator for the county court in Rockwall. I worked hand-in-hand with the County Clerk’s office on a daily basis. I know the responsibilities and duties of the county clerk’s office.”



Question 2: What do you see as the main challenges or issues confronting the county clerk?

Buford Waldrop: “The main challenges confronting the county clerk are to continue the excellent service Paulette Burks has given the citizens of Rockwall County. This involves maintaining a qualified staff of public service oriented individuals. New systems are coming online yearly. The clerk will need to stay abreast of these new developments. The clerk will need to implement the most economical systems to increase the ease with which citizens may file and retrieve documents.”

Marcia Gilbert: “One great challenge will be the growing population of Rockwall County and the ensuing document storage problem. The request of documents via the Freedom of Information Act has become a growing task of the clerk, requiring a detailed understanding of documents and how to produce those quickly, efficiently and accurately.”

Lisa Constant: “The initial challenge will be to ensure a smooth transition during the move into the job. Secondly, the office must continually improve its efficiency through training of staff and introducing new technologies in reaction to an ever increasing workload in the county clerk’s office from the public’s needs.”

Patty Griffin: “Bring the office into the 21st century by providing the taxpayers with a more efficient use of the office and its space while expanding technological capabilities already in place.”



Question 3: If elected, how do you propose to address these issues?

Buford Waldrop: “I will consult with other county clerks, attorneys, real estate and title people and funeral directors to get their input on the best systems. I will welcome all citizens’ comments on improved services. I will work with staff to ensure the office always maintains a citizen-friendly approach to doing business.”

Marcia Gilbert: “So many of the filed instruments and documents are now being digitized and stored electronically that the paper problem is somewhat abated. However, there is still a lot of time and space concerns that will need to be addressed, and I have a history of being able to organize and streamline … [as well as] being computer literate and able to produce the documents in a timely manner.”

Lisa Constant: “If elected, I would like to train with Paulette Burks and her staff to thoroughly understand their daily duties. I would keep the office modern with the latest upcoming technologies allowing public accessibility and preservation of documents; train employees; and constantly maintain the integrity of these records. Lastly, I plan to offer continued quality and friendly service to the taxpayers and other county employees utilizing the county clerk’s office.”

Patty Griffin: “There are two clerks that are assigned to scan documents as they arrive in the office and others who scan part-time. Presently, it can take more than three weeks for documents that are filed to be scanned into the system and indexed for public viewing. With the implementation of e-filings (electronic file transfer), the capability exists to reduce the amount of time necessary to input documents into the system, thereby freeing office personnel for other duties. I am a taxpayer also. I will work to stretch every dollar as far as possible.”

John G. Browning is a partner at Browning & Fleishman, P.C. and is a member of the Rockwall Bar Association. If you have any questions about this article, or would like to suggest a legal topic for a future column, he can be reached at browninglaw@sbcglobal.net.

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