What do you consider the role of the city clerk?
The primary role of the city clerk is keeping government open and
fair. The two key responsibilities of the office are holding fair
elections and ensuring that the Brown Act is followed when holding
city meetings. Election laws must be held to a high standard for all
candidates and rules enforced evenly. Similarly, city meetings must
be held openly, and the public must be given the opportunity to
research information before counsel hearings.
The city clerk is the official record keeper for Glendale
and, as such, has a responsibility to keep records of all
government actions in a way that follows all city, state and federal
laws.
What experience do you have overseeing large budgets, organizing
important records and running elections?
In my current position as a deputy executive officer at the Los
Angeles County Board of Supervisors, I manage an operating budget of
about $3.1 million. In my prior position in Los Angeles County's
Probation Department, I managed a $12-million budget and was
responsible for a staff of 40.
At both the Board of Supervisors and the Probation Department, I
was responsible for ensuring that electronic records were properly
handled.
That included maintenance of entry systems, reliability of data,
recoverability and off-site storage for disaster recovery. In
addition to electronic records, I have been involved with
paper-storage systems and microfilm. I have implemented several
projects that deal with the county's record-keeping systems,
including electronic storage for minutes and assessment appeals board
hearings.
I have attended training sessions for poll workers and worked the
polls in county elections. I understand that the importance of
working with community groups in order to ensure polling places are
staffed and include support for our diverse community. I am a member
of the California Assn. of Clerks and Elected Officials, and I have
attended statewide meetings at which voting issues were discussed.
How can technology be used to improve the services offered by the
city clerk's office?
Technology can be used to enhance internal operations, provide
e-commerce functions for collecting fees, change the way we vote and
make records available in more languages. Digital signatures have
been approved by the state and can be used to reduce paper processes
within the city by using electronic forms for many business functions
that require a written signature today. Digital signatures can also
