Harrell running for Benton County Clerk

BENTONVILLE -- Betsy Harrell of Rogers has filed as a Republican candidate for Benton County Clerk.

Harrell, 58, has worked in the County Clerk's Office since 2004. She began as Quorum Court coordinator and is chief deputy county clerk.

Tena O'Brien, the incumbent, isn't seeking re-election, which prompted Harrell to run. The annual salary for the county clerk is $94,657. The term of office will be four years beginning in 2019.

No other candidates had filed for the office as of Tuesday. Filing ends Thursday.

"I think continuity is important in the County Clerk's Office," Harrell said. "All of our duties are spelled out in state law. You have to know the laws and how to comply with them."

Harrell said former Benton County Clerk Mary Lou Slinkard, who hired her, and O'Brien both stressed the importance of serving the public. Harrell said she wants to retain that emphasis.

"With Mary Lou and Tena, the philosophy was very much one of public service," Harrell said. "You work for the citizens of the county."

Harrell said she wants the Clerk's Office to continue to find new technologies to increase the efficiency of the office and provide better service to the public. She said electronic filing of county records is an area she wants to emphasize.

"The more we can file and store electronically, the better we'll be," she said. "It will reduce the amount of storage space we need for some of these records, and it can make them more easily accessible to the public. They can get access to records online or electronically instead of having to go through boxes and boxes full of paper files."

A graduate of Van Buren High School, Harrell also attended the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

NW News on 02/28/2018

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