Theresa Pate Eugenie "Genie" Walker Jeanette M. Scheller Byron Foster Advertisement

Three Pahrump Republicans and one Tonopah Democrat hope to be the next Nye County recorder. Donna Motis, who holds the office, is retiring.

The office has become more important since the recent passage of a law mandating the removal of Social Security numbers on counties' recorded documents, such as deeds, since the ID numbers first came into existence in 1935. The task is expected to add considerably to the workload of the new recorder.

Theresa Pate

Theresa Pate is the Tonopah Democrat and one of two candidates with direct experience in the office she seeks to occupy. She has lived in Tonopah for 26 years and worked at the Nye County Recorder's Office for almost 24 years.

"With my experience I think I can do an outstanding job," Pate says. "Even though I've had no control over the office or how the money was spent, I have run that office quite a bit in the absence of a boss."

For seven years, in fact, Pate ran the recorder's office while it was combined with the auditor's office; she ran the recorder's side, she says.

"I see the recorder's office moving to Pahrump," Pate says. "We've got to match services in Pahrump to those in Tonopah. We've started that and now need to finish it and keep improving it.

"I have already looked into computer programs and have a few ideas in the direction the office should go."

Eugenie "Genie" Walker

Eugenie "Genie" Walker has more ads on local television than probably all the other recorder candidates combined. A Republican, Walker ran for the office in 2002 when it was combined with the state auditor's office.

Last year the recorder's office changed some of its policies, which have the potential to adversely affect how documents get recorded and how they are retrieved, Walker says. It was because of this that she decided to run again.

Walker has lived in Pahrump since 1985. Through the Internet she has researched the functions of recorder's offices, in and out of state, over the last six years, she said. She familiarized herself with the Nevada Revised Statutes and with the new state mandate regarding the removal of Social Security numbers.

Walker has worked with a Pahrump title company for the past six years, for over two years as a supervisor.

She went to work for a certified public accountant when she was 16 and continued in the field until she was 26. She has 24 years of experience in tax preparation, teaching a basic tax course in Pahrump and running computer programs for tax calulation and return preparation.

She said she has a working relationship with all six of the county's title companies, which deal with the recorder's office and the public on a daily basis.

"Being the recorder, you would have to have a good working relationship with them because they are dependent on the recorder's office," says Walker. It's important that title agents have a comfort level with the recorder, she said.

Walker's goal, if elected, is to make the office's indexing of records available on-line so the public has greater access to them.

"I know what it's like to be on the customer side," she says, "and I'll do everything I can to make your experience with the recorder's office more convenient and pleasurable."

Jeanette M. Scheller

Jeanette Scheller, a Republican, is a licensed and bonded Nevada notary public, college educated as a teacher with "up-to-date" real estate experience.

Scheller also has extensive experience in hotel administration, from housekeeping to food and beverages to front desk and VIP services. She was a hotel manager for 17 years.

For 17 years, Scheller also worked as a licensed title agent and escrow officer, "which will assist with the day-to-day recorder office operations," she said.

Scheller promises to keep lines of communication open with employees and the public and to provide "prompt, professional, caring customer service" and speedy implementation of new laws passed by the Nevada Legislature.

She offers her "assurance that your vote will stand for honesty and integrity" by voting for her.

Scheller says she wants to work to unite the rural communities of the county. A resident of Pahrump since 1999, Scheller first came to the area in 1979 but then left for a while. With three grown children, Scheller says her goals are changing and she now wants "to make a difference" for Nye County.

Byron Foster

Byron Foster, a Republican, grew up in North Dakota and moved to Nevada in 1980. He moved to Pahrump in 1989, where he went to work in the Nye County Assessor's Office. Now he wants to be the county recorder for the next four years.

"We need to bring the recorder's office into the 21st century through computer technologyto serve all the citizens of Nye County." said Foster.

With a bachelor of science degree from UNLV and a master's of science from the California College of Health Sciences in National City, Calif., Foster has 25 years of project management experience using computers.

For nine months in 1998 Foster worked at the Nye County Recorder's Office as deputy recorder. He has also managed a computer database at the Nevada Test Site for one year, where he was in charge of implementing the project.

By his own account, Foster is a "multi-tasking, hardworking, ethical person. I will treat all citizens throughout Nye County equally."

Foster said he is not putting up political signs or accepting any financial contributions. That's "so I'm not polluting Nye County" and "so I do not owe anyone a favor."