Uncontested Local Races

Shari Perry, Republican
Franklin County Clerk

Shari Perry is seeking her fourth term as county clerk.

Perry has worked in the clerk and appraiser's offices for 25 years.

"I like serving the people of the county," Perry said.

Some of the biggest changes in Perry's office involves changes in elections.

New federal and state laws have made significant changes in how elections are conducted, she said.

Elections now include electronic voting machines and a process that is now high computerized, she said.

The state is looking a changes concerning mail ballots that can have other major effects, she said.

An Ottawa native, Perry and her husband Chris have two children, Greg and Jennifer.

Debbie Hough, Republican
Franklin County Treasurer

Debbie Hough, Ottawa Republican, is seeking her third four-year term as treasurer.

Before being elected treasurer, she worked in the office. She has worked in the treasurer's office 30 years.

Hough's office is the one the public is most likely to see, especially because of motor vehicles. Hough said she emphasizes the importance of good customer service.

The treasurer's office is seeing more of its operations and functions being computerized, including computer-generated checks, saving time and money, she said.

An Ottawa High School graduate, she has received the third level of a four-level treasurer's certification through Fort Hays State University.

Hough and her husband Durwin have three grown daughters and 11 grandchildren.

Sue McCay, Democrat
Franklin County Register of Deeds

Register of Deeds Sue McCay, Williamsburg, is the sole Democrat elected department head at the courthouse.

First elected in 1992, McCay is seeking her fifth term. Prior to that, she worked in the register of deeds office, in the appraiser's office and for Haley Title and Abstract.

McCay's office has been changing its computer capabilities during her term.

Adopting more computerized equipment and software speeds up the ability of her office to provide information to the public and monitor property sales, she said.

When county commissioners moved their meetings out of the courthouse and to the county annex, McCay's office expanded to include the old register's office.

The expanded space allowed McCay to use a new large computerized scanner-printer that has significantly sped up her office's processing of deeds, especially with most deeds coming in on sheets that are two feet by three feet, she said.

Her office has also converted all of the county's deed records to compact discs, which improves storage and security and helps researchers and genealogists to access information more quickly and simply, she said.

In conjunction with the appraiser's office, McCay plans to place many of her documents on-line, she said.

A Williamsburg High School graduate, McCay has received register of deeds certification through Kansas State University.

She had her husband Robert have two grown daughters.

Heather Jones, Republican
Franklin County Attorney

County Attorney Heather Jones is seeking her second term. "I love serving the people of Franklin County," Jones said. "... I work really hard to seek justice for victims of crime and to hold people accountable."

The county attorney's staff is a quality group who works as a team, she said.

"During her tenure, Jones helped snag a federal grant that established a joint city-county domestic abuse unit. When the three-year grant expired, the unit stayed intact, she said.

"I'm really proud of that," she said of the program.

Jones' office has aggressively prosecuted DUI motorists and sex offenders during her tenure, she said.

Training law enforcement officers has been a major focus and her office will maintain a spirit of close cooperation with area, state and federal law enforcement agencies, she said.

Jones has been county attorney for four years but prior to that, was an assistant Franklin County attorney since 2000. Her husband Bryan is Osage County Attorney.