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Insiders Vie For Clerk's Post

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By TODD LESKANIC

tleskanic@tampatrib.com

Published: October 24, 2008

Longtime New Port Richey lawyer Robert Altman and Paula O'Neil, a veteran administrator and county employee, are battling to become Pasco County's next clerk of circuit court.

On paper, O'Neil has several advantages over the 52-year-old New Port Richey native. O'Neil, 52, is a Republican in a county where the party dominates elected positions, and she also enjoys a substantial financial advantage over Altman.

She touts her experience in government and knowledge of the clerk's office, where she has worked as chief deputy clerk since 2002.

"This is not a job for an amateur," O'Neil said. "We need someone who is ready to go from Day One on the job, especially in these economic times.

"The amount of requirements for a clerk's office are overwhelming, but it doesn't scare me at all because I know the job. Over the last six years, there have been times when I have been overwhelmed, but I feel it's prepared me for the job. I know where the resources are, and I know I have a very capable staff."

Altman is no stranger to the clerk's office, though. As a lawyer practicing locally for the past 27 years, he has had many dealings with the clerk's office. Altman also knows what other lawyers like and dislike about the service they receive there. That's something he has tried to use to his advantage during the campaign.

The Democrat ran against incumbent Jed Pittman in 2004 and was beaten by more than 47,000 votes. But Pittman has opted to retire after more than 30 years. Having seen little change in the office in the past four years, Altman decided to run again.

"There are a lot of delays in the court's division of our clerk's office that I thought I could make a change to four years ago," Altman said. "A lot of those inefficiencies still exist, and we don't see them in surrounding counties."

The clerk's office handles all the paperwork for the courts, records deeds, issues marriage licenses, collects money for traffic tickets and other fines and coordinates jury duty. The office also oversees the county's spending and audits its books. All of the office's responsibilities add up to a 400-employee operation with six offices across the county and a $28 million budget.

Altman said he has spoken with deputy clerks who have told him that morale in the office is low and that the supervision is burdensome. Civil docketing is slow, he said, with filed documents not getting into court files for as much as two weeks in some cases.

The key to reducing turnover is increasing morale, Altman said. He plans to get employees more involved in decision-making. He said some clerks he has talked to have said their ideas often go unheard.

"There's a lot of duplication of effort and wasted time, and the worker clerks recognize it," Altman said. "I think that helps contribute to the low morale."

Altman admits that he hasn't had experience managing so many people, but he has had leadership positions. He was elected president of the Seven Springs Rotary club in 1996 and has served as chairman of the Odessa Rodeo.

"I heard someone say that there's a difference between a manager and a leader," Altman said. "A lot of people can manage an office, but the number of people who can lead an office is much smaller. I think that's what's been lacking at the clerk's office."

O'Neil acknowledged there may be low morale around the office but said every employer is facing morale issues because of the struggling economy and an uncertain future.

Management at the clerk's office does consider suggestions from rank-and-file employees, and the office has a system for taking employee comments and suggestions, she said.

O'Neil disputed Altman's claims of inefficiency and high turnover. She said the office's voluntary turnover rate is 4 percent. As for the delays in filing, O'Neil said the clerk's office has a volume problem - something every clerk in the state is battling. The Pasco clerk's office handles more than three million documents a year, she said.

"And we meet every state performance measurement requirement," she said.

PAULA O'NEIL

Age: 52

Education: B.S., Missouri State University, 1976; M.S., National-Louis University, 1993; Ph.D. candidate, Walden University

Family: Single, two children

Professional experience: Chief deputy clerk, Pasco County Clerk of Circuit Court, 2002-present; administrative services manager, Pasco County Community Services Department, 1993-2002; recreation coordinator/administrative division manager, Pasco County Parks & Recreation Department, 1987-1993; assistant director of park operations, Charleston (S.C.) County Parks & Recreation Commission, 1985-1987; teacher, 1979-1985

Political experience: None

Web site: www.paulaforpasco clerk.com
ROBERT ALTMAN
Age: 52

Education: B.S., Western Carolina University, 1978; J.D., Stetson University College of Law, 1981

Family: Married, two children

Professional experience: Lawyer with the Law Office of James J. Altman, 1981-present

Political experience: None

Web site: www.altmanfor clerk.com

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084.

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