County circuit clerk candidates point to accessibility

FAYETTEVILLE — The two candidates for Washington County circuit clerk agree accessibility of records is a priority and disagree about how accessible the office is now.

Kyle Sylvester, the incumbent and a Republican, will face Democratic candidate Adrienne Kvello.

The primary duties revolve around filing, docketing, attending court, issuing notices, managing records and reporting to the state Administrative Office of the Courts, according to the county website.

Sylvester said he has worked to create a more transparent and accessible office since his first day in office. He was first elected in 2012 and has served three two-year terms.

Anyone who wanted access to online records in January 2013 had to have a subscription and pay a fee.

“My first week in office, I got rid of that,” Sylvester said.

Also early in his tenure, Sylvester added a domestic relations specialist, who walks people through the process of getting a protection order. This increased the number of people who completed the process, he said.

He partnered with the assessor and tax collector to create a “one-stop shop” for access to real estate-related documents.

Washington County records judgment liens from court and real estate databases, which few if any other county in the state still does, Sylvester said.

“We make it easier for the title companies, banks and real estate agents so they don’t have to go pouring through the court documents,” he said. “It’s something that we don’t have to do and other circuit clerks ask why I still do it. It’s few more steps, but it’s helping them do their business more efficiently, which brings more business into the county, which benefits the people in the county.”

The office switched in June to the state’s electronic