The race for the newly created full-time Warren County Recorder of Deeds position is drawing a lot of interest.

Five candidates are seeking to fill the opening which was created after the county commission made the decision in November to separate the circuit clerk and recorder positions.

Deborah Engemann, Lynn Bernard and Linda Gant each seek the Republican nomination, while Stuart Schwartz and Michelle Walch are battling for the Democratic nod.

The two races will be decided in next Tuesday’s primary election.

The two winners will then square off in the November general election. The winner will take office Jan. 1, 2011.

At the time of its decision, the county commission felt the timing was right to provide a full-time position for the recorder due to the heavier workload in the circuit clerk’s office and to reduce the need for the circuit clerk to run both departments once the new administration building opens.

The current recorder is Jerri Jordan, who is nearing the end of her third term as the circuit clerk ex officio recorder. Jordan is seeking her fourth term as circuit clerk.

The annual salary for the recorder position is $49,500, the same salary received by the county clerk, collector, assessor and treasurer. 

The recorder is responsible for filing numerous documents, including real estate transactions, land transfers, divorces and marriage licenses. Including Engemann, there are currently two full-time employees in the recorder’s office. A third position just became vacant.

Republican Race

Engemann is the lone candidate  currently employed in the recorder’s office. She is currently the chief deputy recorder and has worked for the county for 11 years. Prior to that, she worked 23 years for Guardian Title abstract company.

She said she understands the day-to-day duties of the recorder’s office.

“I’m ready to go Day 1,” Engemann said. “I won’t have to learn the procedures and documents. I got the knowledge of the office.”

Bernard is the manager of Video Classics in Warrenton. She has been employed there for 24 years. 

“I thought this would be a great opportunity and I didn’t want to pass it up,” Bernard said. “I have made some good relationships in the store and I think that can carry over.”

Gant was employed for 4 1/2 years in the recorder’s office, beginning February 2004. She then was employed for a little over a year as the planing and zoning officer until resigning in November.

She said she has over 25 years of administrative and customer service experience working in the public and private sectors. She currently is employed as a version control specialist/customer service representative for South Seas Data.

“I understand the importance of effective communication skills and strive to exhibit those skills with excellence,” she said.

Democratic Race

Of the two seeking the Democratic nomination, Schwartz has experience dealing with the recorder’s office in his current job as a survey crew chief and technician at Warrenton-based Lewis-Bade, Inc. He has been employed there for 37 years. He also helped create the tax maps for the assessor’s office that are used by the recorder’s office.

He feels he has the experience and ability to fulfill the recorder duties.

“I am very familiar with the deeds and the importance of keeping the records maintained and making sure they are recorded properly,” Schwartz said. 

Walch, meanwhile, has plenty of management experience. She has been the health service coordinator for North East Community Action Cooperation (NECAC) for the past 10 years and is used to overseeing a budget of more than $300,000.

She would like to see the recorder’s office become more accessible on the Internet.

“I see this as a management position,” Walch said. “I have an interest in the history of the county. I want to preserve the documents.”