Race for Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder, Assessor Underway with Melinda Greene Filing for the Post
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – A 30-year veteran with Santa Barbara County, Melinda Greene, says she is uniquely qualified to be the next County Clerk-Recorder, Assessor.
She paid her fees and began filing papers to run for the post Thursday morning.
This is done at the county elections office, a department she would be in charge of if elected in the June race. If there are two candidates, the win is decided in that election. If there are more than two, a candidate can win with 50 percent plus one vote. Otherwise the top two are in a November runoff.
Greene says she has seen the elections office go through many phases since she first volunteered prior to becoming an employee.
She says in her job at the Hall of Records now she is “boots on the ground” and handling the budget, department efficiencies, public assistance at the counters and carefully monitoring anyone who may be trying to misuse the system or commit a crime through government records.
She has also worked in the assessors office and says she is has been actively involved in new technology that is needed in all three areas.
“I’m the only person that’s worked in every division. Clerk, recorder. I’m the Chief Deputy. Assessor. I built software systems for them. I’ve done their admin with financial oversight and their cash handling and their calendars for years. Elections. I started volunteering for elections before I even worked for the department,” she said. With three decades of experience, “I’m clearly the most, technical of the candidates.”
She stresses training and being accessible as a manager.
She says there are also many systems available to make the office more efficient for the public, and she has been looking into adding those in the future. There would also be overall cost savings.
Greene says she will be campaigning with appearances at community meetings and talks with government leaders about issues across the board in the three departments. She plans to be in all points of the county from Cuyama to Carpinteria.
She wants to respond to the the “needs of the whole county.”
Joesph Holland was first elected in 2003. He will announce his future in the post in the coming weeks but has not made an official statement on his possible reelection at this time.
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