Keiffer set to run for Clerk

BY KEN ZUK

"Huntington Politics for $800, Ken."  " And the answer is - I have been thinking about doing this for about 12 years".

What is Kittie Keiffer's response to, "Why are you running for County Clerk?"  

We could continue playing the local version of, "Jeopardy", but it just isn't the same when you are not playing with real money.

Mrs. Keiffer added that she did not make this decision on the spur of the moment.  She had considered running for clerk as far back as when Mary Ellen Santa was the Clerk and they had worked together during an election.  "Life takes us all in different directions.  The real estate business called in 1989 and the dream of becoming County Clerk of Huntington was tabled," Keiffer commented.  Now you can't blame her with the real estate business going so well, culminating in her purchasing of the ReMax office here in Huntington in 2001.  After talking this over with her best friend of over 39 years, her husband, ( y'all thought I was going to say somebody else, didn't cha), and discussing it with her co-workers, she decided to file, by coincidence just hours after two other candidates had turned in their paperwork and a day before the deadline.  

I have the utmost respect for anyone who decides to run for political office.  I also have a great deal of respect for a hardworking successful businesswoman.  Which brings us to the next question, "Would your position be different at ReMax if you should get elected?"  A much more careful answer was given.  "ReMax will be intact.  My position will be different and that will be decided when I win."  Keiffer said.  Now to be fair, Mrs. Keiffer did not state this answer with any arrogant, aggressive assumption of winning this election, but in a purely unscientific poll taken at Owen's, when asked, "What is Kittie Keiffer's hair color?"  7 out of 10 gave the correct answer.  In politics, that's a landslide.  By the way, her hair color has not changed in 30 years.  

Comments

[Boot the Upyikes]

You need to ask her who her Chief Deputy will be.

[Gary not fit to lead]

I know who Gary's Chief Deputy will be if he gets elected will be(which it will be a cold day in hell) Ken Zuk.

[Deputy "Clerk" at Owen's]

If thats the same Ken Zuk who posts here will he get to bring his abacus?

[Stewart Griffin]

So she doesn't really say what she is going to do with her business and Pam is telling people Kittie will bring her on as her chief deputy. If that isn't enough, Mrs. Kittie's husband has been Steve Updike campaign treasurer for a while! Why don't they just come out and say it, if you elect me, you get Pam too? As for this ather lady running, Miss Bishoff, no better, part of the crowd that caused all the problems.

[Robert Montgomery Knight]

Maybe shes running b/c she cant sell a house and needs the income....its tough for a realtor out there.

[GhostInTheMachine]

Here is the article :

Clerk-treasurer: Stressing savvy

By DAVE SCHULTZ
Associate Editor
Jay Lahr says he’s shown himself to be an effective clerk-treasurer and thinks he deserves another four years in the job.

Pam Updike, the current Huntington County clerk, says she’s a better candidate for the position.

On Tuesday, Republicans go to the polls to decide between the two of them. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Vivian Barton in the fall election.

Lahr is taking it personally, saying that Updike — the current Republican county chair — shouldn’t be running against him. “I feel betrayed that party leadership is running against me rather than supporting a successful incumbent,” he said.

Updike dismisses Lahr’s concerns. She said she announced her intention to seek the nomination for clerk-treasurer before she became the party chair. Robert C. Brown Jr., her predecessor as party leader, had appointed Mel Hunnicutt as the GOP’s city chair to remove any conflict of interest between potential primary opponents.

Updike dismisses Lahr’s experience in the office.

“He had to start from the beginning,” she said. “Just because he’s got that experience doesn’t make mean he’s the best person for the job.”

Both agree that it boils down to the candidate with the best qualifications, and each brings several to the table. Lahr, who is seeking his fourth term, is a certified municipal clerk and a member of several professional organizations. He says the State Board of Accounts “has stated that our records are in good order and easy to work with.” Updike, for her part, has been county clerk for eight years — she is prohibited from running for a third term — and was named Indiana’s outstanding county clerk by the Secretary of State’s office in 2000 and is also a member of several professional organizations. She says she has a similar commendation from the State Board of Accounts, that her books have been termed “excellent.”

Lahr, 52, 7 Northway Dr., first ran for the office in 1991 after five years in the business office at Taylor University-Fort Wayne. He says his experience will aid the city as it deals with financial uncertainty over the next several months due to property tax assessments and collections.

“We could be faced with a severe cash-flow problem,” he said. “Procedures and policies I have implemented will help with this. Beyond this, it looks like other revenues will be reduced because of the economy and the state’s economic problems. Our office will be guiding the administration and the City Council through the budget process under these circumstances.”

Updike, 53, 1327 Poplar St., worked in a law office and an investment office prior to running for county clerk in 1992. She said that as county clerk she has been handling the reconciliation of the books for the past six years and there has never been a problem with them.

“I’m good with figures, a good manager and supervisor,” she said. “I am organized, and I think I could organize the office and be efficient and accurate. I think I would do a very good job in that office.”

Updike says she would also be accessible in the office. “I would smile at people when they come through the door,” she said, and she promised to work well with city employees.

Updike’s husband, Steve, is a Huntington police officer. They have two children and three grandchildren. She is a former president of the American Business Women’s Association and is a member of the Huntington Church of the Brethren.

Lahr and his wife Beth have two children and five grandchildren. He is a member of the First Church of the Nazarene, where he serves as a trustee.