Eileen Wheeler, center, flanked by (from left) Jeff Greene, county administrator; Commisson Chair Dennis Hisey; Bill Louis, county attorney; County Commissioner Wayne Williams; County Commissioner Sallie Clark; Bob Balink, former clerk and recorder and now county treasurer; and County Commissioner Jim Bensberg.

She’s only 48, but Eileen Wheeler says she deserves to retire.

And that’s what she’s doing.

“I paid my dues,” Wheeler said Tuesday, after El Paso County Commissioners recognized her achievements during the 26 years she’s worked for the county clerk and recorder’s office.

Wheeler says she has no idea what she’ll do now: “I’m going to regroup and see what comes my way.”

Wheeler was hired as assistant to the deputy clerk to the board in 1984. She was promoted to manager of the department in February 1989, during the asbestos evacuation of the clerk and recorder office in Centennial Hall.

“They kept offering me the position, and I kept turning it down,” she said. “But everything kicked into high gear when we had to evacuate, and I like it when things are chaotic.”

Wheeler has served four county clerks and worked with 21 county commissioners. She was responsible for the records of more than 2,000 commission board meetings.

She became an expert on liquor codes, open meetings laws and the Open Records Act, as well as Parliamentary Procedure.

Wheeler also took the lead in reducing paperwork and converting from typewriters and hard copy to computers and electronic filing and recording.

A parade of county staff attested to her attributes at Tuesday’s commission meeting. Past and present co-workers used words like “efficient,” “gracious,” “calm,” “cooperative” and “helpful” to describe Wheeler’s nature.

“Eileen is a leader among leaders,” said Robert “Bob” Balink, who has been the clerk and recorder for the past eight years.

“She’s been one of the strongest county supporters of using technology to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of doing business,” said Bill Miller, from the information technology department.

The commission also approved meritorious service resolutions for three elected county officials leaving their posts: Balink, who became county treasurer on Jan. 1; surveyor Chris Brewer; and treasurer Sandra Damron. The latter two will vacate their positions Tuesday, when newly elected county officials are sworn into office.

County Commissioner Wayne Williams has joined the chorus of Republicans complaining about an  election reform measure being pushed by House Speaker Terrance Carroll and other Democrats.

Williams does have a dog in this fight, sort of.  Having served two, four-year terms on the county commission, he  is now campaigning hard  to become El Paso County’s next clerk and recorder.

If elected, Williams would be the one charged with overseeing elections and making sure they comply with the state laws. (There are other contenders for the slot, including outgoing treasurer Sandra Damron, Public Trustee Tom Mowle, and scientist Charles Corry.)

Both Williams and term-limited clerk Bob Balink  question the timing of the bill,  portraying it as a desperate measure by Democratic politicians who will find themselves on the street following the November election.

At the State Capitol on Thursday, rumors were flying that the measure was dead, but Speaker Carroll said otherwise in a press release. “I have worked with the minority leader Mike May to identify a bipartisan group of legislators to guide this legislation.”

Carroll added that the measure has two goals: to promote fraud-free elections and ensure that counties can run efficient elections. “I want to be clear that I am leaving all options open, including running legislation this year.”

In an email to Secretary of State Bernie Buescher, Balink blasted the bill. “It is ABSOLUTELY NOT NECESSARY for this bill to be rushed through in the waning days of the 2010 session.” (The emphasis is Balink’s.)

“This is not an emergency,” Williams added.” This is a power grap by a desperate group of people.”

 Under the draft legislation, voters could register on Election Day instead of a month in advance as is now required by state law; county clerks would send out mail-in ballots to every voter,  and third parties, such as labor unions, could pick up and turn in the ballots.

Williams said the measure  would make the “entire system more vulnerable to attack.”

Tom Mowle, appointed a couple of years ago by Gov. Bill Ritter, to head up the El Paso County Public Trusteee’s Office, is finding support among Republican  and undecided voters.

Mowle is the lone Democratic contender for the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder job. By contrast, three Republicans are vying for the slot, including term-limited Sandra Damron, term-limited county commissioner Wayne Williams, and Charles Corry.

Mowle said he knocked on about 100 houses over the weekend in which the occupants were registered as either Republican or independent. Only three of the people he talked to said they wouldn’t vote for him.

“They were very positive,” said Mowle, who by all accounts, has run an efficient operation at the public trustee’s office, processing millions of dollars in foreclosed real estate.

Dennis Hisey assumes chairmanship from Jim Bensberg

The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners this morning unanimously elected Commissioner Dennis Hisey to replace Jim Bensberg as the chairman of the board. Hisey, who has five children and 10 grandchildren, represents District 4, which encompasses  the southern part of the county and includes Widefield, Security, Fort Carson and Fountain.

This will be Hisey’s third stint as chairman. After taking office in 2005, he served as vice chair in 2006 and chairman in 2007 and 2008. Hisey’s the epitomy of a gentleman, quiet and courteous, but not afraid to give his opinion when asked

Amy Lathen, who has served two years on the commission and represents the eastern part of the county, was elected as vice chair. Lathen is much more outspoken than Hisey and often takes the time to comment on controversial topics, such as global warming.  ”I can’t believe how quickly time has passed,” she said.

Bensberg, who is term limited, seemed more than happy to pass the gavel. He  had planned to run for the county treasurer’s job, but pulled out of the race last week. Bensberg said he plans to run for a seat in the state Legislature in 2012.

Five candidates are vying for the District 5 county commission seat that is currently being held by term-limited Jim Bensberg. And a sixth may be on the way “making it an even half dozen,” said Kay Rendleman, chairwoman of the El Paso County Republican Party.

The candidates include Peggy Littleton, state Board of Education member for the 5th Congressional District and a regular at commission meetings; Ed Jones, former state senator and former commissioner from 1994 to 2002; Bill Guevara, a former official from California; Patrick Carter, former precinct leader and Republican chairman for House District 16, and David Williams, UCCS student body president and possibly the youngest-ever candidate to run for the county commission.

By contrast, Darryl Glenn, a city councilor and Republican party favorite, has the field to himself in District 1, which is the seat being vacated by term-limited Wayne Williams.

To recap the other races: Three candidates are vying for the El Paso Clerk and Recorder’s Office, including Wayne Williams, Charles E. Corry, a research scientist and computer expert, and Treasurer Sandra Damron, who is also term-limited.

And three candidates running for the Treasurer’s Office: They include Jim Bensberg and term-limited Bob Balink, as well as Tom Mowle , a Democrat who in February 2008 was appointed as public trustee for El Paso County.

El Paso county officials like to bash the government, particularly the state and feds, but when it comes to parting with their $87,300 government jobs, they’re loathe to leave them. Several officials, whose 8-year terms will conclude at the end of 2010, have already made it clear that they’ll be running other offices.

Jim Bensberg, chairman of the El Paso County Board of Commissioners, told the Cheyenne Mountain Republican Club recently that he’s going to run for county treasurer.

Bensberg said it would be “premature” to discuss his candidacy. “I haven’t completed the paperwork and it doesn’t seem ripe for public comment.”

Sandra Damron, the current county treasurer, is running for county clerk. “I’ve been doing this job for the past seven years. I know how to be the executive of a county office and I want to take that knowledge and transfer it to the clerk’s office.”

As for Bob Balink, who is the current clerk, it’s not clear if, or what, he’ll be be running for. In an email, he said he’s still considering his option. “I have been considering how I might be able to continue to serve in some capacity within our community when my term expires in January 2011. But to date I have not made any final decisions nor have I elicited support for any particular office, should I consider that as an option.”

It’s also rumored that Mayor Lionel Rivera is considering a run for one of the county commission seats.  ”I haven’t ruled it out,” he said.