Election 2016 - Four candidates vie for Clerk of District Court position

With the primary election just a month away, there is one major local political contest to be decided in Blaine County. Four candidates are vying for the office of Clerk of District Court that will be vacant when Kay Johnson retires at the end of the year. There are three candidates on the Democratic primary ballot and one Republican candidate. The primary is set for June 7. What follows is some basic background about the office and the four candidates seeking the position.

A short history of the

District Court in Blaine County

The 17th judicial circuit of the Montana District Court is made up of Blaine, Phillips and Valley counties. One judge, an elected position, travels among the counties to hear cases and conduct court business. Each county has its own elected District Court clerk. The Clerk of each District Court is the official keeper of records related to court activities in a county. Those records vary from records of civil and criminal trials to filings for adoptions, guardianship, domestic relations and sanity cases. The Clerk also issues marriage licenses and impanels juries for the District Court's trial work. It's a job with a lot of varied duties.

Blaine County was created in February, 1912 and a Clerk of the District Court was appointed just a few weeks later. Since that time only nine people held the job. Two held the position for a few months, two died in office and the average time holding the office is 14+ years. Kay Johnson, the current Clerk, has the longest tenure with a total of 31 years. In the early days of the county, the county attorney and clerk of the court were housed in two rooms in the Lohman Block on Indiana. Rent was $12 a month for each room, with heat included.

Johnson said there have been many changes in how the duties of the job evolved during her tenure. Since 1995 court cases are tracked via a computerized tracking system. Johnson said, "For a few years the state courts have been preparing to go to e-filing-all documents and filing done via computer. I worked on several committees that made plans for the new e-filing. The start date was pushed back so I will not see it begin, but the new Clerk will be very involved in that major change." She noted the Montana Supreme Court already uses e-filing and about 20 other states use that process for state court business.

The three Democratic candidates

One of the three Democratic candidates will emerge from the June primary as the party's candidate for the general election in November. The three Democrats are introduced in order of when they filed for the office.

Blankenship is currently a legal secretary for Burns, Solem and MacKenzie, a Chinook-based law office. Born in Washington state, her family moved to Chinook in 1995 and she graduated from Chinook High School in 2007. She's been with the law office for seven years.

Blankenship attended MSU-Northern for a year then took a job in North Dakota working in a family connected business that handled oil and gas leases. She said, "I wanted to come back to Chinook and a relative was working for the law office here. We basically switched jobs, she went to North Dakota and I went to work for the law office." She added, "I'm very into being close to family and most of my immediate family is in the Chinook area. I want to continue to live in the area." Blankenship has a 13 month old son.

In the summer of 2013 Blankenship took an online program, through MSU-Billings, to become a Certified Paralegal. She said it was a very intense program but she learned a lot of very helpful information she uses in her position with the law office. Bill Solem, of the law firm, said, "Rebecca knows computers and is very adept at using them. I saw the notice that Kay Johnson was retiring and encouraged Rebecca to file to run for the office."

As to the skills she can bring to the clerk of court position, Blankenship said, "Working in a law office I draft legal documents, work with local commissions and organizations, and on a daily basis track and organize legal files and documents. I'm also very computer literate and feel I could make the transition to the new e-filing that will be coming to the clerk's office. I'm looking at the position as something I could do long term and grow with the position."

Mitchell is an Assistant in the Blaine County Attorney's Office, where she's worked for 12 years. Before that she worked for the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, starting as a dispatcher and then becoming a jailer as well. A native of Hinsdale, Montana, where she graduated from high school, she's lived in Chinook for 25 years.

After high school she attended Helena Vo-Tech specializing in computer science and worked for the state of Montana as a computer data entry technician for a time. She moved back to Hinsdale with her young son, then to California, for three years. In California she mainly worked as a nanny but went "Hollywood" as an extra for Universal Studios in a musical video. Mitchell added, "I decided I needed to take Russell, my son, and come home to Montana."

She took a job with the Phillips County Extension Service and moved to Malta. During this time, through some extension connections, she met and married Dennis Mitchell, a rancher south of Chinook. She worked as a teacher's aide at the Cleveland School, where her son also was a student. Later she joined the Sherriff's Office and, eventually, the County Attorney's staff.

Mitchell said, "Since my start at the Sheriff's Office, and for 12 years with the County Attorney, I've learned a lot about the legal process. I work regularly with the Clerk of Court's office and I feel the work there is crucial to the effective operation of the local court system. I'm uniquely qualified for the job. I know the process and I know the people-the judges, lawyers and law enforcement officers. And, I'm compassionate, which is critical to the smooth operation of the court system."

Mitchell has a grown son in the Air Force and two daughters in the Chinook area. All three children graduated from Chinook High.

Mundlin is currently a Dispatcher with the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, where she's worked for five years. She grew up in Chinook, graduating from high Chinook High in 1990. She is married to Chris Mundlin, an employee at the county's Road and Bridge Department. Carrie has a grown son who lives in the Chinook area.

After high school Mundlin moved to Oregon. There she trained and worked as a massage therapist and also worked in a machine shop. She added, "I guess my real work experience was helping my folks in their meat processing business here in Chinook." She and Chris married and moved back to Chinook in 2010.

Mundlin said, "I decided to run for the Clerk of Court's position for the learning opportunities. I know the beginning of the process from my work as a dispatcher, I wanted to learn the entire process."

She noted she has computer experience from working with the systems in the Sheriff's Office. Mundlin added, "I think I'm good with people and can work well with the public. And I'm always eager to learn."

One Republican candidate

Pauly Miller. Miller is a native of Chinook, having grown up here and graduated from Chinook High. As the only Republican candidate in the primary, Miller will face the Democratic winner in the November general election.

Miller has spent 30 years in the title insurance business, the last 20 in her own business. She started Bear Paw Title Insurance in 1996. She said, "I'm planning to sell the insurance business and that is part of why I filed to run for the clerk's position. I will have time for a new career path." She added, "I search records in the Clerk of District Court's office and know a good bit about how the office works. I'm used to managing records and files from owning and operating the title insurance business and, like the e-filing coming to the court, most title records are now computerized. I'm comfortable with computerized records management."

Before starting her own title insurance business, Miller worked in a couple of county government positions. She said most of that work was part-time but she has always been interested in the judicial system and believes equal access is the key to equal justice. Miller's husband, Perry Miller, is Justice of the Peace for Blaine County Justice Court.

Miller said she has honed her skills dealing with the public through owning a business and prior jobs with county government. She has political office experience, having served for 15+ years on the Chinook School Board and is the current chairman of the school board. The Millers have eight children, all of whom are adults and graduated from Chinook High, and 15 grandchildren.