Recommendations
With 15 years of experience in the office, Hudspeth is the best pick for county clerk.
The role of the county clerk that most often receives attention is that of elections administrator, but county commissioners recently took away that responsibility. The office still retains its day-to-day functions of issuing marriage licenses and maintaining property records, along with birth and death certificates.
The importance of that charge is not lost on Teneshia Hudspeth, our choice in the race for Harris County clerk.
“We record all the major events of your life,” she told the editorial board. “If you’ve lived in Harris County, you’ve come through our office for something or another at one point in time.”
Hudspeth, 39, is the Democratic candidate running against Republican Stan Stanart, who was the clerk until 2018, when he was unseated by Diane Trautman. With Trautman resigning over health concerns earlier this year, the winner will fulfill the remainder of her term.
Usually, Stanart’s experience would give him the edge, but Hudspeth is no stranger to the clerk’s office, having worked her way up over a 15-year career from an administrative assistant in public affairs to the chief deputy position. Her climb through the ranks has given her a groundlevel view of many of the office’s responsibilities, she said, from voter outreach to records preservation and archiving.
That will come in handy as she continues the office’s modernization by upgrading technology and enhancing online services to reduce wait times and improve efficiency. She also wants to make some of the clerk’s services more widely available outside the office by partnering with community centers.
While the clerk will no longer be a direct elections administrator, the position comes with a seat on the county election commission, a role where Hudspeth’s experience will also be important.
“I will be able to sit on that commission and hold the elections administrator accountable,” she said.
While Stanart is as affable as ever, it was time for new blood in the clerk’s office when we endorsed his opponent in 2018 — his pledge to “stop socialist Democrats” didn’t boost our confidence in his judgment — and that need for change continues.
Hudspeth gets our recommendation for Harris County clerk.