Office lacks leadership, says GOP candidate

Eau Claire County Clerk Joanne Lester is not seeking re-election. After twenty years, she is retiring. Battling for her job is her deputy, Janet Loomis -- a Democrat who has Lester's endorsement -- and Republican Denise Gilchrist, 44, of Altoona.

"I don't think there has been the leadership of 'step up and take charge,'" said Gilchrist, referring to Loomis' performance as deputy county clerk.

She points to an incident she said happened in September, in which Lester was out of the office. "And there was an invoice, and because it didn't get paid in the appropriate time frame, a discount was lost."

Gilchrist said the loss to county taxpayers amounted to about $27,000.

Deputy Clerk Loomis should've been able to prevent the problem, said Gilchrist. The deputy should be able to step in if the clerk is away for whatever reason, she said.

"That office is not supposed to function around one individual. The reason you have a deputy is to make sure that the function is carried out by that office, because it's the responsibility of the office," she said. "And based upon information provided to me, that isn't what's happening."

"It was not an invoice, it was a recycling grant," said Loomis. "It was addressed to the county clerk, it was in the county clerk's mail, and it was on her desk -- it was not in the mailbox outside."

If Lester had given her the authority to look at mail addressed to her, Loomis said she would have done so, but Lester had not given her that authority.

The grant had passed its first deadline, "so there was a five percent deduction in what the county could get." Loomis said she didn't know if the five percent amounted to $27,000.

Another concern of Gilchrist involves a checks and balance procedure in which part of the function is supposed to be performed in the clerk's office and another part in the treasurer's office.

But both procedures were being "done by two different individuals within the treasure's office on occasion," she said, "because of not having been completed appropriately at the county clerk's office."

"As far as checks and balances in the treasurer's office," said Loomis, "I have no clue what she's talking about."

Joanne Lester said Gilchrist's statement "kind of doesn't make sense."

"Eau Claire County Treasurer Larry Lokken said Gilchrist is referring to the situation before Loomis became deputy county clerk.

At that time, the county clerk's office was not fulfilling its obligation under state law, he said. "The checks and balances really weren't there, because I was using the finance director as my double-check, and that's not the way it's supposed to be in the statutes."

Loomis "has done a phenomenal job," he said, to make the clerk's office run.

Gilchrist said she could bring leadership to the clerk's office, in addition to 27 years of experience in finance in the Chippewa Valley.

She managed the mortgage operation for Firstar Bank of Eau Claire, she said, and was in charge of its real estate operation from 1985 to 1996.

She was also responsible for interpreting the laws and applying them to make sure the bank met all regulatory requirements.

"I was responsible for collections and liquidation of real estate," she said. "The county clerk is also responsible to follow through with acquiring real estate if there's delinquent taxes."

She also handled millions of dollars worth of funds disbursement. "And the clerk is responsible to make disbursements of funds on behalf of the county."

More recently, she worked at American Bank, but she resigned to run for county clerk.

If she wins the election, the first thing she would do is to "look at every single job description in that office," to be sure each staff member is cross-trained to perform whatever task is necessary.

"I think that when people come into that office for service, they deserve to get good quality service with a smile," she said. "We're there to serve the public, to do the job of the clerk, and I think that that's one thing that's maybe not (currently) expected, or not promoted."

"I have a habit called 'working with people,'" she said. "And I feel that when people work as a team, and when they do things that support one another, what comes out of it is a much better environment for them and for the people they serve."

She also wants to make voting more accessible and convenient for the elderly and disabled.

Her passion for the disabled derives from a series of family tragedies. Her father, husband and daughter each became disabled due to separate accidents.

On Dec. 12, 1999, the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reported that Gov. Tommy Thompson appointed Gilchrist and two others to serve on the Council on Physical Disabilities. Her term expires on July 1, 2001.