Editorial: Appoint, not elect, the county recorder

Monday, May 6, 2002 | 8:53 a.m.

For the past seven weeks, Clark County Recorder Judith Vandever has been working from home, calling in each day to her staff of about 55 people and otherwise communicating through e-mails and faxes. The reason for her absence is understandable -- an illness required an operation and lengthy recovery time.

Her absence, though, raises a question about the best way to provide management for the office that takes in about 3,000 documents a day for filing and which is vital to the smooth functioning of county government. Vandever is an elected official and as such she is accountable to the voters for the way in which the office is managed. But her absence has created a management vacuum that is not easily filled, given that she does not report to the county manager. A filing backlog is building and employee morale is dropping.

We think the 2003 Legislature should change the office, so that the recorder is appointed and the office answers to the county manager. That way, in the event of the recorder's absence, seamless management of the office can be assured.

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