Joni Smith: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: Crystal LakeOffice sought:www.vote4joni.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County Recorder of Deeds Age: 48Family: Married with four children and two grandchildrenOccupation: Recording Office Supervisor, McHenry County Recorders OfficeEducation: Graduate from Cary Grove High School; Previously State of IL Property and Casualty Insurance License; Certificates in Supervisory, Management Fundamentals, Professional Trainer/Leadership, Customer Service, Delivering Quality Service, Business Writing, Resolving Conflict, Service of Excellence, Ethics and Best Practices, Legal Concepts Doctrines, Descriptive Writing, General Liability, Quality Service Skills, Management PracticesCivic involvement: Member of McHenry County Fair Association; Member of the Republican Women's club; previously member of Moose Lodge, United Way March of Dimes for over 10 years; supported of the Hoof Association; supported my children in the McHenry County 4H group for several years.Elected offices held: Nunda Township TrusteeQuestions Answers How well has the Recorder of Deeds performed, and what qualifications would you bring to the office?Under the leadership of current County Recorder Phyllis Walters, the office has operated extremely well and efficiently. The McHenry County Recorder's Office has been a leader in the state through office innovation. Major goals have been achieved through careful planning and management, most notably being the back-file conversion where documents dating back to 1839 have now all been imaged, indexed and preserved, so that you are able to search and retrieve any document within seconds.My previous supervisory roles at Kemper Insurance, my depth of experience in the Recorder's Office, and my ability to effectively lead, train and encourage cooperation among others are just some of the major qualifications that I will bring to continue the successful operations of the Recorder's Office.If you expect to ask for an increase in appropriations during the next four years, what areas would you want to put more money into?I do not see a need for an increase of appropriations at this time. I am very mindful of using taxpayer dollars efficiently and effectively, especially in the economic environment that we have come through and continue to experience. I will continue to review all areas where savings could be achieved, as Phyllis Walters has already done. If the housing market improves enough to warrant the need for any additional appropriations to run the operations of the office, I will carefully consider those needs and provide detailed analysis to substantiate any request made.List any of your relatives (including those related to you by marriage, and nieces/nephews) who are on the public payroll in Illinois, their jobs and who they work for.Phyllis Walters has given opportunities to college students and/or work program students to work a limited number of part-time or summer positions in the office. My daughter had the opportunity to work in the Recorder's Office through her high school work program and was hired by Phyllis Walters to continue on full time because of her ability to do a good job, hard work and good work ethics. She is presently looking into her options for attending college. My other daughter applied for an opening in the County Clerk's Office and was hired by County Clerk Mary McClellan.Describe your position on transparency in the office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?I am fully supportive of transparency and believe that the public needs to know and see what their hard-earned tax payer dollars are being used for. The Recorder's Office has made significant efforts to make information available to the public all recorded documents are open to the public to search.Please list any elected office you have ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I successfully ran and served as a Nunda Township trustee. Being a Trustee was a valuable learning experience which furthered my interest in government. I was appointed a Republican Precinct Committeeman for a period of over two years and I am currently running for Precinct Committeeman in Nunda 21 to help voters to be informed on issues and candidates for good government.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?One of the biggest issues, in my opinion, is for there to be an understanding of what the Recorder Office does and how critical the operations are to the security of documentation as well as the economy. The office records over 200 different types of Real Estate related documents such as Deeds, Mortgages Liens, Judgments and Foreclosures to name a few as well as Military Discharges which is important for veterans to assist in receiving benefits.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Phyllis K. Walters. Phyllis has proven long term vision and leadership over her 30 years of service, she has been and incredible mentor to many of her staff and colleges.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To do what's right! To be kind, honest and listen to peopleIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would do it all over again! I enjoy my family, friends and people in general all who were a large part in making me who am today and I look forward to seeing what the future brings.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I enjoyed history. I found it to be fascinating and as it turns out a lot of what we do in the Recorders office pertains to history of property dating back to 1839.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?My advice to my children has always been the same as what was instilled in me: To do what's right, be kind, be honest and listen to people.