quick summary
County Clerk
This year the County Clerk seat is open for election. The current Democrat Clerk, Celeste Riley,
is running for re-election against Republican challenger, Commissioner Lods.
Both parties appear to be running 'slate', which means they are running as a team within their parties, potentially all the way up to the national level. All candidates have been
reached out to in terms of clarifying their individual characteristics, agendas, stances on clerk-related issues, and comparisons to other candidates. We have had some communication
with both candidates and have received some relevant information, but not comprehensive responses for each of those topics.
Celeste Riley, the incumbent, inherently has experience specifically for this position. However, candidate Lods has been involved in politics since she was
19 years old, and has had at least several years experience interacting with the clerk's office, so she certainly wouldn't be coming in blind if elected.
Of particular note, some issues regarding the County Clerk Office have come up regarding the
design of the ballot and how
office literature
is potentially being presented to the public in terms of what should be neutral voting information, but could be seen as expensive campaign material.
If you're an independent who votes for individuals as opposed to parties, be sure to check out the each party's platforms as part of your overall decision
making. Here is the
Republican Party Platform and
Agenda 47 (Donald Trump's agenda) to see the general direction of Republicans. Here is the
Democrat Party Platform
and the Harris-Walz issues page on their Campaign Site. It should be noted that the Democrats did not have
a platform posted and Harris-Walz did not have their issue stances posted up until approximately mid-late September, giving voters very little (if any) time
to look over the info before early/mail-in voting started.
Click the red x at the top of this box and then scroll down down for more in-depth information and sources.