The Lewis and Clark County clerk, recorder and treasurer’s race pits an incumbent who has years of experience within the department and cites accomplishments from her short time heading the office against a challenger who touts her business resume and says she puts integrity at the top of her list.
Both say they are dedicated to serving others.
The office carries a big load when it comes to county government as it includes accounting, elections, motor vehicles, property tax and records. There are 31.5 full-time employees and about 13 short-term employees for the various elections, and the department has about 300 election judges for the primary election. The budget for all five departments is just over $3.5 million.
The race is nonpartisan. Election Day is Nov. 8. Ballots were sent out Oct. 14.
Incumbent Amy Reeves, an employee with 27 years in the clerk’s office and who has worked in every division within the department, was appointed to the county clerk position in 2020 by the Lewis and Clark County commissioners when Paulette DeHart retired.
“I like my job,” she says.
Challenger Bettijo Starr points to her experience in the world of business and finance including jobs with the Internal Revenue Service, with IBM and in real estate banking, and she makes election integrity a clarion call of her campaign.
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking,” she said during an Oct. 6 candidates’ forum at Hometown Helena.
Reeves, 50, said her experience has prepared her for running the department. She notes she understands mill levies, has plenty of property tax experience and has worked with 40 school districts and special districts in elections.
“I’ve worked on elections my whole career,” she said.
She also faced many challenges when she took the reins of the department. In response to an Independent Record survey, she noted that there had long been public frustration in the Motor Vehicle Department due to wait times to receive service.
She said the population had outgrown the number of qualified staff. This remodel of the first floor of the City/County Building resulted in four more motor vehicle windows to reduce wait times and the backlog of title work. It now includes four windows that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
She said staffing shortages have plagued all five divisions in the Treasurer/Clerk & Recorders Office, adding there has been staff turnover ranging from one-third to two-thirds in the divisions.
And she says she and her department work well with other departments.
Reeves said she is responsible for the annual financial reporting of over $30 million in federal grants awarded to the county. The department also tracks auditing, and reporting of the more than $65 million in capital assets.
She said her experience also includes records preservation and retention, and knowledge of state laws, county policies and procedures.
Reeves said election machines undergo hours of testing to ensure accuracy. She notes that during the June 8 primary there was a recount for District 5 of the Public Service Commission race and the recount perfectly matched the earlier tally.
She said it showed the integrity and the accuracy is there.
Reeves said the office has been hit with an increase in public record requests regarding election integrity, not only from a group in Helena and other Montanans, but from across the country.
There will be a public test at 9 a.m. Nov. 4, which is the Friday before the Nov. 8 election day.
She said Lewis and Clark County in the past has served as a model county that the state points to. She wants that to continue. She said the county recently won its 26th Award of Excellence from the Government Finance Officers Association.
Starr, 72, was not immediately available for an interview for this story, but in her election materials she says she wants to see the office serve the public more effectively, more efficiently and with more transparency.
She said she has ideas for improvements for the office, including the Motor Vehicle Department and employee satisfaction. She said she is hearing from voters that they want change and that comes with new ideas.
Starr also said she wants to mitigate staff turnover and find ways to retain experienced personnel.
On her Facebook page, Starr said she opposed the county commission's decision to force mandatory mail-in ballots in 2020, saying such ballots are known to open the door to fraud. She said she also opposes using tabulating machines that aren’t secure, such as the DS850 now used in the county.