Return O’Connell to county clerk’s seat

Nearly eight years ago, Maureen O’Connell sat down in the county clerk’s office for the first time, and had quite the task ahead of her. There were more than 2 million court and real estate documents just sitting in boxes, waiting to be processed.

O’Connell cleaned up the mess in her first year, and created an office that actually works for the people. Today, documents are processed in hours rather than months. Over the past four years, she has implemented new initiatives, included paperless filing for commercial court cases, while providing the necessary training programs for lawyers on how to use this technology.

She has also made a point of warning residents, particularly senior citizens, about predatory deed scams, saving them from trying to obtain documents they might not even need. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, O’Connell waived fees for residents who sought to recover valuable legal documents. Most recently, she successfully lobbied the state to waive its document-retrieval fees as well.

We’re not entirely sure why county clerk is an elective post, but it’s an extremely important one, providing valuable services to residents and business owners. The county clerk is responsible for all real estate filings, and also serves the court system. O’Connell’s office generates millions of dollars in revenue for the county each year.

Her passion for the job is evident. She constantly reminds her staff about the importance of customer service, and clearly understands residents’ needs. Soon, O’Connell says, land record information will be made available on an online database — as soon as personal information of property owners is removed.

Her opponent, Laura Gillen, brought many good ideas to the campaign, and seems well qualified for the job. She has a vision for the office, including the expanded use of technology. She raised valid concerns about O’Connell’s lack of response to a 2007 independent audit by Deloitte of her office’s operations.

Gillen’s intentions seem genuine, and we believe she could have a bright future in county government. But our endorsement goes to O’Connell, who has done solid work in the clerk’s office over the past eight years. While there is more to do, she has improved the office’s operations by leaps and bounds, and she should be rewarded with another four years.