Renea Campbell

I believe to be a good County Clerk you need to stay active in the Clerk’s Association and your local and state governments.  I have been serving on the Klickitat County Safety Committee since 2015. I am the representative for the Washington State Clerk’s Association on the Public Trust and Confidence Committee (PTC) for the Board for Judicial Administration. Also, I have served on the Court Recovery Task Force (CRTF) which was a two-year commitment, and I was assigned to the technology committee.  CRTF was established to address the impacts of shutdowns during COVID on the court systems, which disrupted the public’s access to courts and court records. We developed and implemented guidelines and recommendations to best serve the public. For example, the technology committee developed a set of guidelines to help courts and clerks improve their websites.

2. What goals do you have for this office, and how do you plan to accomplish them?

My first goal for 2022, is to have all public documents moved to the Washington State Digital Archives (this project is in the final stages). Once documents are moved, you will be able to access the Washington State Digital Archives through a link on the County Clerk’s webpage where you can order documents electronically without having to drive to the courthouse or needing to pay extra to have those documents mailed.

The second goal is for the public and Attorneys to have the ability to electronically submit documents for review and filing to the Klickitat County Clerk’s Office.  This project will be completed before the end of the year.  Again, allowing you to complete your court business without driving to the courthouse, mailing through USPS, or using a courier service.  These changes will save the public time and be more convenient.

3. How will you effectively manage taxpayer dollars and court records to ensure an accountable and transparent justice system in Klickitat County?

Throughout my tenure in the County Clerk’s Office, I have been fiscally responsible and streamlined processes all while keeping the Clerk’s Office moving forward with advancements in technology.

When possible, work flows have been created in our OnBase software system to move documents to state and local departments through secure sites.  Before the workflows were established, we were emailing those documents on a nightly basis which was time consuming for staff and meant the state had to wait hours for documents.  

Requests for copies of public documents are currently filled by the Klickitat County Clerk’s office. Once the documents are uploaded to Washington State Digital Archives, the orders will be completely processed by that state agency, which will save our staff time to complete other required state mandates.

Each of these processes requires creative problem-solving, a deep understanding of the laws, court rules, and fundamental principles of justice to maintain access and transparency to the public.

4. How would you determine success in this role?

The Klickitat County Clerk is tasked with preserving the Superior Court record for the public.  The Court and the public must have confidence in the Clerk and the clerk’s staff. The Clerk must ensure the staff is kept apprised of the current changes to laws, court rules, and court decisions which affect processes and procedures. You must keep an open line of communication with the Judges and the court staff.  Having conversations with your peers, listening to other ideas, and being open-minded and flexible is necessary to be successful.

In my time as County Clerk, I have worked hard to hire the right staff.  I am thankful to have hardworking staff who are willing to collaborate and make changes to best serve the public.  We will continue to persevere through changes in law or mandates from the state by working hard to make the appropriate adjustments to our processes and procedures.

In my nine years as County Clerk, I, Renea Campbell, have been successful serving Klickitat County.