For the first time since 1996, Onondaga County will get a new clerk with the upcoming election.
The clerk is the keeper of house mortgages and deeds. The clerk issues passports and collects the county’s historical memorabilia.
The outgoing clerk, Republican Ann Ciarpelli, has held the position for the past 16 years. She has retired and two candidates – Democrat Gary Morris of Syracuse and Republican Sandra Schepp of Manlius – are hoping to be the fresh face of the Onondaga County clerk’s office.
The clerk and the office staff are key members of the county government, said Grant Reeher, a political scientist and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University.
“They are the administrative officer of the county,” he said. “They are in charge of keeping the documents and they oversee the office that does all of the housekeeping kinds of things that local governments do. They’re the record keeper.”
With Ciarpelli’s resignation, Jackie Norfolk, the principal deputy clerk and a 30-year county employee, took over until the election for a new clerk. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.
The county clerk is elected to four-year terms and makes $78,654 a year.
Here’s a look at the candidates:
Gary Morris (Democrat)
Morris, 46, is pitching himself as experienced in dealing with budgets.
“I am the only candidate that has the experience working in county government,” said Morris. He was an analyst, he said, of the county’s $81.7 million budget for County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s office.
Morris is the owner of G & R Real Estate 2007. He is also an adjunct business professor at Cazenovia College and Onondaga Community College.
Morris received his associate’s degree from Onondaga Community College in applied science and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Le Moyne College. He also has a master’s degree from University of Phoenix in business administration in human resources management.
Morris volunteers at the Dunbar Association helping with finances and sits on the Syracuse City School District Educational Foundation Board. “I just want to take that another step by becoming an elected official,” Morris said.
In addition to the Democratic endorsement, he will also be on the ballot under the Working Families Party.
He plans to use reviews from current employees to improve the county clerk’s office since it hasn’t been under new management in many years, he said.
“I think the best approach to this office is to figure out what is working and what’s not working by doing an internal audit of the place,” he said, “and from there using the best practice to see how we can take that office and elevate that office.”
Sandra Schepp (Republican)
Schepp, 51, is stressing her 12 years serving on the town board in Manlius.
“A person needs to be able to walk in the door and understand the budgeting and understand the players involved, and being able to walk in that door and do that job and do it well,” she said.
Schepp is a graduate of Solvay High School and is now the manager of Juno’s Glass in Auburn. Schepp is endorsed by the Republican, Conservative and Independence parties.
She has already started creating plans to improve the office, she said. For example, she said, the passport office is receiving fewer passport applications. “There’s little things that you can do to increase the passport situation,” Schepp said. “Go out and visit people, visit seniors, visit schools, visit town clerks and try to promote the issuance of passports.”
As a result of her political involvement, she is familiar with the inner workings of the county government and the people in it, she said.
“I think being able to walk into the role understanding everything as it is now,” Schepp said, “I think will be a great asset to that position.”
(Amy Lipman is a senior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and international relations.)
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