By Damon Grosvenor
Landmark reporter
Candidates for Platte County Clerk agree the office needs to run more efficiently but offer differing views on how to get there.
Voters will choose Nov. 3 between Republican Mary Calvillo or Democrat Hans Peter for clerk, the position responsible for certifying tax levies to state and county officials, issuing liquor licenses and more.
Calvillo won the contested Republican primary against current Platte County Clerk Jera Pruitt in August, while Peter ran unopposed on the Democratic ticket. As voters prepare to head to the polls, the candidates have been door knocking and campaigning.
“This is my first time running and I love it,” Peter told The Landmark in an interview on Monday.
Peter graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, in May 2021 with a degree in international business and finance. He currently works for C.H. Robinson, a third-party logistics and transportation company.
He said he spends most of his time talking with potential voters about what exactly the clerk does and why it is important.
“Not often do I get a door where the person is familiar with the role,” Peter said.
However, he said many residents have voiced concerns about property taxes.
“I hear from a lot of people the property tax is too high.”
Calvillo also said that is the primary concern she hears from people when door knocking.
She said the clerk’s office took too long to process claims by seniors for the senior property tax freeze.
Both candidates said the purpose of the clerk is to efficiently work for taxpayers, although both offered different avenues for success.
“Through my work, I have learned how to optimize processes from effectiveness and time efficiency,” Peter said. “I want to bring that skill set to the clerk’s office.”
He wants to analyze how programs are currently being implemented, namely the senior property tax freeze, to see where things can be improved for other program rollouts.
“Specific areas that I am looking at to improve are document intake and data entry,” he said.
While the county likely cannot perfectly mirror the private sector, he said it can still learn from it and adopt techniques and technologies to improve customer service.
“I want to see how we can apply these tools in our day-to-day jobs to automate certain processes,” he said.
While Peter is looking for internal improvement, Calvillo said she would focus on ensuring the clerk’s office was more accessible to people. She pointed to the current office hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“There is no reason it cannot be open till 5 p.m.”
Calvillo said keeping the office open for normal business hours was the right thing to do.
“What I love about the clerk’s office is that it is a customer service office.”
She also said she would work for taxpayers, unlike other current officials.
“People are frustrated with the lack of collaboration in Platte City,” she said.
She pointed to the recent lawsuit filed by Republican Jason Maki, who is running for Presiding Commissioner, against Platte County Collector Sheila Palmer.
As previously reported by The Landmark, the lawsuit seeks a court order requiring Palmer to apply voter-approved homestead property tax credits to 2026 tax bills.
“If people do not get these tax credits, they may go bankrupt,” Calvillo said.
Other recent decisions from officials also pushed her to run, she said.
“If you had asked me a year ago, this would not have been on my radar,” she said about campaigning.
However, when county officials voted to increase officeholder salaries by 30%, she said that was too much.
“The move was out of touch,” she said.
