The two women who want to be the next county clerk say their experience and education lend a hand to the two major tasks they will be responsible for if they win the seat — getting new voting machines and making sure Johnson County’s elections are secure.
Trena McLaughlin and Kathy Stolz are vying for the clerk position. One certainly has the experience. The other says she has the education needed to do the job well.
The new clerk will be tasked with finding a way to secure and fund new voting machines that are needed to replace current, outdated ones. It’s an important step to make sure that local elections are safe and secure, as voting fraud and election tampering is an issue of national concern.
McLaughlin, the Republican candidate, has worked in the clerk’s office for 21 years — 20 of those as the chief deputy clerk. She worked for three clerks during her tenure, including the sitting clerk Sue Anne Misiniec. So she’s dabbled in all of the different areas within the office, she said.
“In the clerk’s office, there are lots of different deputy clerks who do different jobs. Being here for all of those years, I can help assist in any of those jobs,” McLaughlin said.
Before that, she managed a department store in Greenwood. She graduated in 1979 from Franklin Community High School.
Stolz, the Democratic candidate, is a freelance writer and editor and former chairwoman of the Johnson County Democratic Party. She’s lived in Franklin since 1984 and is a member of various local organizations, including the Franklin Heritage and Lions Club.
She has pursued various careers — teaching, motivational speaking, public relations and volunteer management — all of which lend themselves to the duties of clerk, she said. She has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree in journalism from Ball State University.
“The clerk has to be a communicator; the clerk is a teacher because the clerk is the one who is presenting the training to poll workers; the clerk is managing a staff as well as volunteer election workers; and the clerk is also someone who has to be able to present and be a face of government to the public. My experiences all culminate into the job of clerk,” Stolz said.
McLaughlin wouldn’t change much if she were to win the seat, she said.
“Honestly, I feel like the clerk’s office is running very well right now. The clerk that we currently have has done a great job. I want to continue to run the office as we’ve done it,” McLaughlin said.
She is aware that getting new voting machines is a top priority in the clerk’s office. But what the county has now is working, she said.
“The voting machines that we have are working well. They are older, but they do still work,” she said.
Her goal would be to purchase new machines in the next year or two.
“I feel that our system is very secure. We make sure that all of our machines are locked. No one else has access to them,” McLaughlin said.
Stolz said not only does the county need newer voting machines, but more machines are also needed in the northern part of the county where the population is growing rapidly, such as Center Grove, to prevent people from standing in lines for an hour or more.
“We need to have more machines at those voting sites to prevent that kind of annoyance,” Stolz said.
The county also needs to replace the voting software in addition to the machines, she said.
Election security would be a top priority for Stolz. She would start by reviewing all of the processes herself and bring in outside investigators to examine it as well. The best way to determine the type of machines and software to buy would be to look for best practices at the state level, she said.
Getting new machines would be a multi-year process, she said.
“I think every one of our public officials is and should be concerned about providing the best equipment and process and security, and I know that the discussions have already started about replacing the equipment. So I would expect that it would happen before the next presidential election,” Stolz said.
Both candidates feel they are the right fit for the job, and both hold the position of clerk to a high standard. But only one will win the seat come Nov. 6.
“I am a very honest and caring person and I want to have a staff that is here for the public and to assist in any way that we can. Every customer who comes in might have a different scenario, and everyone can’t afford an attorney. We’re not attorneys, so we can’t give them legal advice. But we can sure point them in the right direction,” McLaughlin said.
“Really the clerk’s office, I think, is one of the original jobs that was created by the state constitution and it is so important because it deals with all of these different elements that make government work. People deserve to know that any documents that they submit are going to be treated with respect, just as the people themselves should be treated with respect. I feel very up to the task,” Stolz said.
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Trena McLaughlin
Residence: Franklin
Family: Husband, Terry; two adult daughters
Occupation: Chief Deputy Clerk
Education: Graduate of Franklin Community High School
Memberships: Our Lady of the Greenwood Catholic Church; Johnson County Republican Women’s Club; Friends for Life, Inc.; Association of Clerks of Circuit Courts of Indiana
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Name: Kathy Stolz
Residence: Franklin
Family: One daughter
Occupation: Writer and editor for various trade publications; contracted motivational speaker
Education: Graduated from Portland (Ind.) High School; Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University; Master’s degree from Ball State University
Memberships: Franklin Heritage; Lions Club; Grace United Methodist Church; Bridges Out of Poverty; Johnson County Democrats; Indiana Landmarks; Indiana University Alumni Association
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About the job” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: County clerk
Duties: Reviews, processes and stores all records from criminal and civil courts, oversees the voter registration departments and runs county elections.
Term: Four years
Salary: $56,180.30, plus an additional $4,800 for serving on the election board.
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