Danielle Souza has been selected by the Linn County Republican Central Committee to replace David Lamb as Linn County Clerk. (Photos by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com
MOUND CITY – During a convention open to the public at the Bunker Hill Community Center in Mound City, the Linn County Republican Central Committee on Sunday, Feb. 2, voted to replace retiring Linn County Clerk David Lamb with Danielle Souza. In doing so, the majority of the committee members disregarded Lamb’s nomination of current Deputy County Clerk Darcy Wilson for the post.
Lamb recruited Wilson about a year ago to work in his office with the goal of training her to take over his job when he retired. Because of the stressful nature of the work in the clerk’s office, Lamb’s efforts to recruit his replacement had reached a dead end until Wilson agreed to take on the job. Before that, she worked under former economic development director Jessica Hightower as a “housing champion” who worked on the lack of housing in Linn County.
Early in Sunday’s meeting, Souza, Wilson and Dustin Schuler were nominated to the committee for the post. Lamb’s nomination received a second from former county commissioner Vickie Leonard. Brandon Clark nominated Souza, and that nomination received a second from new county Commissioner Alison Hamilton.
Dustin Schuler answers questions during Sunday's convention to appoint a new county clerk.
Schuler was nominated by Suzanne Purvis, and his nomination received a second from his wife, Ashton Schuler.
County Chair Becky Johnson presided over the convention, which was open to the public. She gave each of the candidates an opportunity to tell the nearly 50 people in attendance their qualifications and the reason they wanted the post. They then answered a set of questions that were prepared or submitted by the audience.
Following the introductory speeches, Johnson asked those who were not central committee to leave the room, with most of the non-members milling around outside the community building and basking in the sunny and unseasonably warm February afternoon.
Members of the central committee continued to ask candidates questions in a closed-door session before asking them to leave the room as well.
Included in the group of central committee members were nine precinct committee men and women who were elected to their post in the August primary. It was that core group of committee members who selected James Akes to fill the last few weeks of former sheriff Kevin Friend’s term at the end of September. Akes was elected to the sheriff’s post in November without any formal opposition.
Darcy Wilson works alongside David Lamb during a recent commission meeting.
However, after Lamb announced his retirement effective Jan. 31, 14 new precinct committee people were appointed to the post over three weeks. From the results of the vote, which included 12 votes for Souza and five each for Wilson and Schuler, it appeared that the goal of the more recent appointments was to secure the post for Souza. Souza needed to win at least half the votes to secure the clerk’s post.
Her nomination is being forwarded to Gov. Laura Kelly for approval.
The field of three candidates was strong. While state statue does not require the county clerk to actually reside in the county he or she is hired to serve, all three candidates were residents.
Souza said she was currently employed in the payroll department for Black and Veatch, a large engineering firm based in Overland Park. A graduate of Pleasanton High School who earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting, she pledged to bring the county in line with the Generally Accepted Account Principals (GAAP).
While she acknowledged that taking on the clerk’s post would present a steep learning curve, Souza said she was confident she was up to the task. She said there was considerable room for improvement in the clerk’s office and said she looked forward to working with the county commission.
Schuler, who currently works as deputy appraiser in the county appraiser’s office, said he graduated from Pittsburg State University with a degree in business administration with emphasis on accounting and human resources. The son of the late extension agent Mark Schuler, the candidate said he was a lifelong resident of the county.
He said he had also worked in the county treasurer’s office and the department of motor vehicles and felt he had a good working relationship with other county workers. He said he felt he would be able to shoulder the responsibilities of the clerk’s office. Schuler said the commission had done a good job in keeping the budget revenue neutral over the past four years and that he would work to keep the budget - and taxes - under control.
In addition to her experience as deputy county clerk and elections clerk, Wilson said she had lived in Linn County for 15 years and attended the University of Missouri in Columbia where she majored in business. She said she would be comfortable overseeing the county’s annual budget of about $46 million.
In addition to experience in preparing for and overseeing the county’s election process, Wilson said she had many years experience in accounts payable, payroll, and administering insurance programs. She said that while most of what the clerk’s office was doing needed little improvement, adherence to policies needed to be followed more tightly.
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