Clerk's race is about access to records

By Don Plummer

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Cobb Edition

Marietta, Oct. 28, 2004 -- N. Jan-Michael Simpson was 5 years old when Cobb County Superior Court Clerk Jay C. Stephenson first took office 20 years ago.

Now Simpson is after Stephenson's job.

Simpson, at age 25, admits his youth and lack of political experience are negatives for many voters. Then there is his lack of money.

He hasn't raised the money to finance a traditional challenge. His advertising is limited to handing out business cards and a black-and-white brochure extolling six reasons voters should elect him.

Simpson's campaign almost didn't begin.

Republicans challenged the Democrat's candidacy when he didn't list a chief deputy clerk on his filing papers. A judge called in from another county to hear the challenge decided Simpson could remain on Tuesday's ballot.

Simpson's main promise is to increase access to information at the clerk's office."My platform is convenience, to make the office as citizen-friendly as possible," he said.

Stephenson said that's been his goal all along.

"This is the most accessible clerk's office in Georgia," said Stephenson, who said he wants one more four-year term to complete a computerized access system.

"I think one more term will give me enough time to get the technology I've been working on in place the way I want it," said Stephenson, who will be 59 on Nov. 20. "Its sort of become my mission."

The missing element that Stephenson wants to complete before leaving office is online images of court documents. The records already would have been posted, Stephenson said, but for a lawsuit with the system's vendor. Stephenson said his lawyers won't let him discuss the suit, but believes a settlement is near.

The Cobb clerk said he will match his office against any for efficiency.

"Our office operates with less than half the employees of Fulton County and with one-third of their budget and still processes deeds more quickly," Stephenson said.

A real estate lawyer, Stephenson said he began looking for ways to improve access to property records soon after he took office as clerk on Jan. 1, 1985. Back then, he said, things were a mess.

Real estate records took 46 days from the time a deed was presented to a clerk until they were recorded and put into the deed book. At least 20 employees worked as much as 66 hours a week just to maintain the 46-day lag time.

And the courthouse was running out of storage space. The weight of additional deed books would soon require a new $10 million storage building.

Stephenson came up with the idea of putting records on computer after seeing his son-in-law reading newspaper comics on a computer. "I thought if you can put comics online, why not court records," Stephenson said.

The office now has images of all real estate documents back to 1977 on computer. That has freed up space in the file room for public access computer terminals. Property documents are available on the Internet in 30 minutes, instead of 46 days, Stephenson said.

"That's a lot of trips to Marietta, with all the lost time, parking expense and general frustration that people can now avoid," Stephenson said.

Simpson, an assistant to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings-Moore, said he would take being "citizen-friendly" beyond computerizing records. He would open the clerk's office during evening hours for those without computers.

"In my experience there is an uneasiness on the part of many people in dealing with the court," Simpson said. "I also would add Spanish speakers in the clerk's office and put forms on the Web site for people who are representing themselves."

Editor's note:  Jay Stephenson was re-elected on November 2, 2004.