Race
for county clerk to feature Krohne, Pedego
by Shana
Haines
Landmark reporter
In the upcoming race for Platte County Clerk, it will
be incumbent Sandy Krohne, Democrat, against challenger
Lee Pedego, Republican.
Sandy Krohne has spent almost eight years as Platte County
Clerk and says she plans to continue her service.
Krohne has been in the county clerk's office for 15 years,
serving as deputy for seven years.
Her husband, Billy, is an air traffic controller at Kansas
City International Airport. They have two children, Audrey,
who is studying graphic design in Florida, and Billy Joe,
a student at West Platte.
Since in office, Krohne has converted work previously
done by hand to computer.
The Platte County Clerk's office is run by three people
plus herself, something Krohne says she is proud to report.
"Most offices double or triple their staff. This
office is still able to work with the same number of employees
for 25 years. That is amazing with the growth going on
in the county," Krohne said.
"That allows us to have a personal relationship
with people we serve. They know when they call they are
getting one of us."
Krohne says she is working on document imaging for county
records. She adds that document imaging would benefit
the county. The imaging, she says, would allow all county
records to be accessed on computer.
Krohne has been working on the project over a long period
of time. She adds the imaging would also decrease storage
needs and allow for quicker service.
A pilot program for document imaging will begin soon
with Platte County Planning and Zoning and Platte County
Clerk's offices.
Krohne says voters would benefit from keeping her in
office simply because she has experience.
"It would be very difficult for someone new to come
in here. It would take someone new at least three years
to understand what needs to be done," Krohne said.
"I work closely with almost every office in the
county. This is not just an 8-5 job for me, this is a
passion. This is not just a salary for me. This is not
just a title. I love this job."
Pedego has a master's degree in finance, is president
of South Platte Rotary, a farm owner and operator for
28 years, a business founder/owner, Public Water District
#1 president, Platte Regional Sewer District Chairman,
a TWA Senior Buyer for five years, was in the United States
Air Force for four years, PAR IV Homes Association past
president, Timber Ridge Homes Association past president
and has been a Platte County resident since 1967.
Pedego ran for county treasurer two years ago.
Pedego and his wife, Cherie, own ISMA Incorporated and
an art gallery in North Kansas City. The couple have three
children.
Pedego says his campaign slogan, "Restore integrity
to the clerk's office," sums up his reason for running
for county clerk.
"A lot of things have been done that need corrected.
I would hire professional and qualified people and train
them adequately, use good management and get out of the
way and let them do their job," Pedego said.
"I think when a public official violates the trust
of the voter, which this one (Krohne) has, they need to
be voted out of office. This is not a race of Democrat
versus Republican. This is not a race of man versus woman.
This is a race of competence and professionalism. This
county will benefit from a professionally-run county clerk's
office," Pedego added.
|
