Douglas County clerk seeks re-election

MINDEN -- Four-term Douglas County Clerk-Treasurer Barbara Reed announced Tuesday that she will run again for office.

Predicting the next four years will be challenging as Nevada faces an almost certain federal mandate that will eventually decertify the punch-card ballot sytem, Reed says she looks forward to implementing touch-screen voting.

"We've planned for it and have earmarked money from previous elections to do it," Reed said. "Right now, we're waiting to see how it's going to pan out at the federal level."

In the making long before the contentious November 2000 general election where the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Florida Attorney General's decision not to have a manual ballot recount, Reed said she has been socking away money, knowing federal election reform was around the corner.

"It's been a goal we've been working on for about five years," Reed said. "We have wanted to see it come to Douglas County and have been preparing for it, with about $200,000 set aside."

With legislation still pending at the federal level, Reed said she's waiting on a plan that gives money to states, which is doled out to individual counties. With today's technology, Reed said it would cost the county about $800,000 to be fully equipped.

Using the Internet has been a cornerstone of the clerk's office, having developed a system where county residents can log on for information, pay tax bills or have questions answered.

Managing elections is one of many responsibilities of Reed's department which has bout a $2 million budget and a staff of 26 full-time and part-time employes.

Other responsibilities of the office include overseeing the investment of county money, collecting property taxes, room taxes, fees and fines and having clerks on hand for the county's district court, board of county commissioners and planning commission. The office maintains district court records and legal documents, summons prospective trial jurors and grand jurors.

Reed was born in Minden, raised in Smith Valley and attended the University of Nevada, Reno. She returned to Minden in 1971 and began working in the clerk treasurer's office in 1973.