Pam Anderson – Lynn Bartels on SOS.state.co.us

Our county clerks: “Because I knew you I have been changed for good.”

December 4, 2018December 2, 2018 by Lynn Bartels

Four of Colorado’s departing county clerks share a laugh at a clerks party Saturday night in the metro area. They are, from left to right, San Miguel County Clerk Kathleen Erie, Moffat County Clerk Lila Herod, Otero County Clerk Sharon Sisnroy, and Broomfield’s Jim Candelarie. (SOS photo)

They laughed.

“I love my husband — we’ll be married 60 years next year. But I don’t know if I want to be home with him all the time,” said Faye Griffin, the outgoing clerk in Jefferson County.

They envied.

“I’ll miss you all when I’m sitting on a beach next November,” said Hillary Hall, Boulder County’s term-limited clerk and recorder.

Longtime Jefferson County elected official Clerk Faye Griffin and her husband Walter at a party Saturday for departing clerks. (SOS photo)

They cried.

“Colorado is the leader in elections. I’m so proud of that,” said Bent County’s longtime clerk, Patti Nickell.

Most of the state’s departing county clerks gathered Saturday night at the Melting Pot in Louisville, where they were feted by the Colorado County Clerks Association. Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell, president of the CCCA, read a letter to her outgoing colleagues.

“Your commitment and sacrifice to your office, staff and citizens of your county is what public service is all about. The county clerk is the hub of the community for connection to their government, and with that came challenges, wonderful memories and a front seat for history,” she said.

“Please remember you will always be a part of us — that our shared experiences and mutual understanding will never dissipate.”

Chaffee County’s Lori Mitchell to lead Colorado’s county clerks

January 21, 2018January 20, 2018 by Lynn Bartels

Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell, the new president of the Colorado County Clerks Association, swears in the other officers, including Adams County Clerk Stan Martin, president-elect, on the left, and Pitkin County Clerk Janice Vos Caudill, the vice president, at his right. (SOS photo)

Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell — known for her colorful shoes and her clever Facebook posts reminding residents their motor-vehicle tags are about to expire — is the new president of the Colorado County Clerks Association.

Mitchell, who succeeds Logan County Clerk Pam Bacon, took the oath of office on Jan. 18 at the clerk’s winter conference in Colorado Springs.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the community where I grew up, and now I get to serve as president of the Colorado County Clerks Association,” Mitchell ssaid. “This is the greatest group of people I have ever worked with. We always have our citizens in mind.

“We do good things.”

Hard work, hackers & hikers — Here’s to the Colorado clerks conference

June 26, 2017June 23, 2017 by Lynn Bartels

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams talks to Garfield County Clerk Jean Alberico and Larimer County Clerk Angela Myers at the Colorado County Clerks Association Conference in Snowmass Village. (SOS photo)

By Lynn Bartels and Julia Sunny

Colorado’s county clerks and their staffs learned about election security and costs, Motor Vehicle registration kiosks and privacy vs. public access from a stakeholder’s viewpoint at their conference in Snowmass Village this week.

Secretary of State Wayne Williams addressed the Colorado County Clerks Association on Tuesday, outlining legislation his office advocated for, the state’s leading status when it comes to voter turnout and registration, and future training to learn about election audits.

“Let me tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity to work with you and how much I and my staff appreciate your … commitment to ensuring that our elections are run with integrity,” Williams said.

Top officials with the Colorado County Clerks Association include Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell, the president-elect, executive director Pam Anderson, and Logan County Clerk Pam Bacon, the CCCA president. (SOS photo)

Pam Anderson, the former Jefferson County clerk and the executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said 54 of the state’s 64 county clerk offices sent representatives to the summer conference.

County clerks have a variety of responsibilities, from elections to motor vehicles to recording documents, such as marriage licenses and titles.

The titles of the conferences over the three-day workshop reflected that: “Creative Solutions for Long Lines,” “Election Integrity in the Current Political & Media Environment” and a “History of Paper & Demographics.”

Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell, the president-elect of the clerks association, said she and her staffers learned plenty at the seminars. “They were really well done,” she said.

Logan County’s Pam Bacon to lead county clerks association

January 22, 2017 by Lynn Bartels

The clerks who are about to be sworn in as members of the Colorado County Clerks Association board enjoy a light-hearted moment. They are, left to right, Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell, president elect; Arapahoe County Clerk Matt Crane; past president; Otero County Clerk Sharon Sisnroy, treasurer; Adams County Clerk Stan Martin, vice president; Pitkin County Clerk Janice Vos Caudill, secretary; Park County Clerk Deb Green, Southern region chair; Lincoln County Clerk Corinne Lengel, Eastern region chair; and El Paso County Clerk Chuck Broerman, Central regional chair. (SOS photo) — The clerks who are about to be sworn in as members of the Colorado County Clerks Association board enjoy a light-hearted moment. They are, left to right, Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell, Arapahoe County Clerk Matt Crane, Otero County Clerk Sharon Sisnroy, Adams County Clerk Stan Martin, Pitkin County Clerk Janice Vos Caudill, Park County Clerk Deb Green, Lincoln County Clerk Corinne Lengel and El Paso County Clerk Chuck Broerman. (SOS photo)

Logan County Clerk Pam Bacon will lead the Colorado County Clerks Association for the year, assisted by fellow clerks who will serve on CCCA board.

She took the oath of office from her predecessor, Arapahoe County Clerk Matt Crane, at the association’s winter conference in Colorado Springs last week.

Arapahoe County Matt Crane, right, administers the oath of office to Logan County Clerk Pam Bacon. (SOS photo)

“I accept the position of president of the CCCA with humility because I am sure it is not an easy task and I am certain that despite my best efforts, I will disappoint some of you sometimes,” Bacon said in her acceptance speech.

“My door is always open and I am only a phone call or e-mail away so feel free to reach out to me,” she said. “I recently told a clerk that we are all on the same team just in different zip codes and I do believe that. Our association is great at lending that helping hand or ear to a fellow clerk but we have to know your dilemma before we can extend that help.”

Bacon’s presidency comes as clerks and the legislature grapple with the implementation of two election-related ballot measures that voters passed in November.

Lincoln County: All quiet on the eastern front (except for elections)

September 14, 2016September 9, 2016 by Lynn Bartels

Lincoln County Clerk Corinne Lengel and Secretary of State Wayne Williams at her office in Hugo Wednesday. (SOS photo)

Lincoln County Clerk Corinne Lengel appreciated the fact that Secretary of State Wayne Williams drove to her county two days in a row this week.

Williams met with Lengel and her staff in Hugo on Wednesday, which was the last of three county clerk visits that day. He also traveled to see the Otero and Crowley county clerks.

The secretary returned to Lincoln County the next day to address the Colorado County Clerks Association eastern regional meeting in Limon.

“I was really impressed he took the time,” she said. “I’m very happy with the relationship he has made with the clerks.”

Williams couldn’t get over the spacious office space Lengel and her staff share at the Lincoln County Courthouse. In some clerks’ offices workers are shoehorned in but in Hugo Williams joked staffers must have to shout at the next desk to be heard.