Republican Clark County Clerk Scott Weber has drawn a challenger as he seeks a third term for the position.
Barbara Melton, a county legal secretary who has worked in the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for 17 years, is running against Weber as a Democrat.
The clerk’s office processes documents and helps with proceedings in Superior Court. It also disburses the court’s money and the money of litigants, among other duties. The office has 46 employees and an annual budget of about $3.7 million. The clerk is paid an annual salary of $114,509.
“The office has some morale issues,” Melton said. She declined to go into details saying, “I don’t like to speak negatively about people.”
Melton said that good management comes from good leadership. She said she wants to create a healthy work environment where employees can thrive at their jobs and offer ways to streamline the office’s operations.
“I believe that innovation and change come from front-line staff who do the work,” she said. “Staff have the best ideas.”
When asked about the morale issues raised by Melton, Weber said, “I honestly don’t know where she’s coming from.”
Weber, 46, said that recent initiatives in his office have required working closely with his staff and that he’s been “thoroughly amazed” with their teamwork. He said that under his leadership, the clerk’s office has improved access to information and automated some processes. He said that it used to take days or a week to get documents online, now it takes an hour at most.
“I can’t take all the credit for that,” he said. “It’s a group effort.”
He said his office is working on a replacement of its current computer system which will make Superior Court records for the state accessible. He said the work should be complete by early November.
“It’s not the most exciting position,” he said. “But it’s important.”
Weber initially ran to abolish the position of clerk. But since he was elected in 2010, he said he’s had a change of heart. He said that being independently elected allows him to pursue innovation in a way an appointed clerk wouldn’t.
“The bench isn’t always looking for innovation,” said Weber. He said that judges are often thinking more about caseloads and not about streamlining work. He said some judges would keep the court entirely on paper if they had their way.
Melton, 50, has never run for political office before but has served for 15 years as shop steward for Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 11, which she said represents some employees in the Clerk’s Office.
While the office is a partisan position, Melton said she has “no idea” why the political affiliation of the clerk should matter. But she said she chose to run as a Democrat because she was raised in a union household with a strong affinity for the party.
Weber said that he also doesn’t view the office as being partisan. But he said he is running as a Republican because of his prior affiliation with the party.
