Democrats seek clerk's candidates
SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Democratic Party is seeking candidates to complete the balance of county Clerk Marie Scott’s term.
Scott announced this week she is retiring on July 1, although the process to appoint her successor can start now.
Scott’s party will interview prospective candidates and submit three names to the board of county commissioners, which will appoint the new clerk.
The clerk’s position will be up for election again during in 2014.
Scott declines to say who she would like to see finish out her term in office, but recommends that the candidate have intestinal fortitude and a steel rod for a backbone.
“People need to realize that this is not an administrative position. It’s hands-on every single day and there’s a lot of stress associated with it,” she added.
The county clerk has one of the most diverse jobs with five job titles outlined in Idaho Code. In addition to serving as clerk of the district court, the clerk also serves in an ex-officio capacity as county auditor and recorder. They are also clerks to the board of county commissioners and chief elections officers. They also oversee the county Assistance and Veterans Service offices.
Scott is widely credited for helping to wean the county off of tax-anticipation notes every October to meet its financial obligations. And even some of her most ardent critics over the years conceded that Scott knows county finance forward and backward, inside and out.
Scott plans to log some travel time with her husband, John, in their recreational vehicle once she enters retirement. She had already announced she would not seek re-election.
“It’s time. It’s time,” she said. “Everybody recognizes that in their life. They reach a certain point and they know that it’s time.”
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Candidates’ first step
Those who are interested in applying to finish Clerk Marie Scott term in office are asked to contact Laura Bry, chair of the Bonner County Democrats.
Bry can be reached at 290-5261 or by email at bonnerdemocrats@gmail.com