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By
Dennis Brown
Charles “Joe” Hall has announced he is a Republican
candidate for the office of Lewis County Clerk in the upcoming Primary Election.
Hall is a former employee of the Lewis County Clerk’s Office.
“It’s where I’ve spent the last 15 years training and performing my duties
to the best of my abilities,” Hall said. “I began working there in the
summer of 1993 under a summer work program and began working there permanently
that fall.”
He is the son of the late John Hall Jr. and Shirley Mae Hall.
The youngest of three boys, his older brothers are Donald and Keith Hall.
“My father was well known around town from working at
Wilson’s Grocery. My mother was known for her babysitting and being active in
her church,” Hall said.
“I have known since my high school days that I was meant for a
business field career. My junior year I was elected treasurer of the Future
Business Leaders of America. My senior year I was the editor of the Vocational
School newspaper and came in second for Senior Class Treasurer,” he said.
“I’m trying to use just three words to describe my campaign
and myself,” Hall said in making his announcement. “Honest, capable and
progressive. By explaining what these words mean to me will also convey my hopes
and visions for the office of Lewis County Clerk.”
“Honesty is probably the most difficult for a politician, good
thing I’m not one. A normal politician promises this and that, only saying
what their current audience wants to hear in order to get what they want,”
Hall said. “I’ll be honest to everyone about everything. If I tell one
person I agree or disagree with something, I won’t tell their neighbor
something completely different.”
“That part of honesty also falls over to fairness. The
position of Lewis County Clerk is an elected position of service to the entire
county, not to a select few. It shouldn’t’ matter what your last name is or
who your parents were. Each person is a distinct individual with their own
worries and needs and should be treated equal.
“Favoritism shouldn’t be shown to someone just because of
something a relative had done. The reverse being you shouldn’t look down or
belittle someone because of a mistake someone else had done. I promise to treat
each man, woman, and child that walks in the door equally, as an equal, and with
the utmost respect,” he said.
“Some of you have already heard me be more honest than you are
familiar with in a government office,” Hall said. “Many times I have called
a law that was, to smaller counties such as ourselves, unfair. Then I try to
assist and advise you of all possible options.
“When I say capable, I mean already trained for the office. I
was trained by Shirley A. Hinton for 15 years. During that time she took a shy
and backwards boy and helped him mature into an adult. She gave me opportunities
to learn and try new things and to share ideas with her. If the ideas were good,
we implemented them. If they weren’t, she wouldn’t simply say ‘no’, she
also explained to me why. She was a very good teacher and I learned a great deal
from her.
“Numerous times during my 15 years in the county clerk’s
office I would also hold down a second job, part time at either JC Video or
Foodland. One advantage I’ve found from working at other locations is I’ve
been exposed to different ways to handle the same situation. So now if a new
experience in the clerk’s office arises, I might have some prior experience to
fall back on for guidance.
“The office of Lewis County Clerk is not simply a one trick
pony. It does more than just renewing vehicles. With the small staff we can
afford, the office has to tag, renew, and add bank liens to vehicles; Keep voter
registration and oversee the election. Preparing for elections alone takes two
to three months in order for everything to run smoothly.
“Deeds, mortgages and marriages are just some a few of the
instruments prepared and/or recorded. The clerk’s office is not one you can
simply step in and have it continue running smoothly without prior training,”
Hall said.
“I am also a progressive person. This is the 21st
Century and the office has to catch up and keep up with the ever-changing world
at large. We are no longer in the sixties or
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Charles
"Joe" Hall has filed for election as Lewis County Clerk.
seventies. Technology continues to update and change how
business is done. The days of paper ledgers are long gone.
“In addition to the once a year report to the fiscal court, I
also plan on disclosing the financial reports to fiscal court on a quarterly
basis, as done by the other county offices. Not only will I attend the monthly
fiscal court meetings, but I would also join in with the other office holders
and present a report of the clerk’s office transactions.
“While under the Hinton administration I did class work for
two courses on Excel. Using this knowledge I was able to create and update my
previous work on some of our monthly reports. In the past I had to take some
reports home in order to finish them in a timely manner. With my programs a mere
10 or 15 minutes and the report is done.
“I also was working on a bookkeeping program tailored
specifically to the clerk’s office that matches the format the auditors use
and the Department of Local Government reporting system. This program will
greatly increase the accuracy and reduce the time it takes for audits, as well
as the numerous other monthly and yearly reports. ‘Time saved means money
saved’,” he said.
“I also do not feel obligated to continue with business
practices that are out of date just because that’s how it’s always been. I
am the candidate with experience and also with my own thoughts and ideas.
“I also have a different viewpoint on what being the employer
or boss means. I do not take it to mean that I personally have to come up with
the only possible solution for every problem. There is no harm in listening to
other people around. Listen to their ideas and then choose from all possible
resources what to do. An employer is responsible for choosing which solution to
use, their own or someone else’s. Then give credit where credit is due. Or, if
the wrong choice was made, take responsibility for it.
“The one thing that I will promise is, that if elected, I will
try to the best of my ability to serve all of the citizens of Lewis County and
to make their every interaction with the office as relaxing and productive as
possible,” Hall said.
Hall is a 1994 graduate of Lewis County High School and attended
eastern Kentucky University. “I have wanted to continue my education through
night classes or online classes but being a single-income person, I have not
been able to afford to do so,” he said.
“If elected I intend to continue my education either in
accounting or computer operations, both of which would be beneficial to the
office,” he added.
Hall is Treasurer of the Lewis County Republican Party, a past
member of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Lewis County
Theatre Guild.
“Financial difficulty is understood and shared by many in the
county during these bad economic times. This was one of the reasons I had to
take my time and decide if I was even able to try and run. It was a difficult
decision withdrawing out my retirement funds, but I felt it was necessary to try
to ensure the integrity of the office,” Hall stated.
“I ask for your thoughts, prayers and support in the upcoming
election for Lewis County Clerk.”
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