Hinds will replace his boss in DuPage clerk's office

Republican Paul Hinds, a longtime employee of the DuPage County Clerk's office, handily won election Tuesday to replace his retiring boss, Gary King.

Hinds received roughly 60 percent of the votes in unofficial results with all 756 precincts reporting to top Democratic opponent Jean Kaczmarek of Glen Ellyn.

Hinds, from Villa Park, is chief deputy clerk in the office where he has worked for 18 years.

"The voters have spoken and said, 'You know what? We want to continue what the county clerk's office is known for,'" Hinds said Tuesday. "We're certainly a very efficient office, a very personable office, where you walk in and you actually talk to a person."

Hinds said he wants to improve online functionality of the office's main services. The clerk's office records all meetings and actions of county governing bodies, issues several types of civil and business licenses, helps facilitate property taxation and handles economic interest statements annually by about 5,000 elected officials and government employees.

"I'm looking at getting more things on the computer, such as economic interest statements, so people can file online," Hinds said. "Eventually, we'll switch over to all electronic."