Wilson resigns as County Clerk

July 20, 2007 - Effective tonight at midnight, R.J. Wilson, the County Clerk of Crawford County has officially resigned his position as county clerk. Mr. Wilson will participate in a new employment endeavor as the assistant to the president of a growing ethanol production company.

Mr. Wilson announced his resignation to the Board of Crawford County Commissioners on Tuesday July 17. The Board of Commissioners recognized Deputy County Clerk Don Pyle as the interim county clerk. Mr. Pyle assumed the duties of office early in the morning on Saturday July, 21, 2007.

Prior to announcing his resignation to the Board of Commissioners Mr. Wilson notified Crawford County Democratic Chairman Beth Bradrick. Bradrick has called the convention to replace Mr. Wilson for 7:00 PM on July 30, 2007 in the Crawford County Courthouse. The staff of the County Clerk's Office was notified on Monday July 16, 2007, Mr. Wilson's 36th birthday.

Mr. Wilson pointed to many accomplishments as he reflected on his time as county clerk. He made specific note of moving the county from a single entry accounting system to a new double entry accounting system on a Microsoft Windows based platform. Mr. Wilson said that the fiscal conversion will satisfy one of the most serious fundamental flaws of Crawford County government; a deficiency which caused the county to be written up annually in the fiscal audits conducted by a third party.

Mr. Wilson also discussed the monumental accomplishment of meeting the requirements of the Help America Vote Act and moving the county into the electronic age with the voting process. Mr. Wilson made note that a major change had occurred in how and where people voted. He discussed the introduction of technology into each polling place and the reduction of polling places from 50 to 16. He said a complete overhaul of the voting process in the county had been accomplished under his leadership.

Mr. Wilson said the other important accomplishments of his term included: new and improved lines of communication between county officers, more information available to the public through the county clerk's redesigned website, a more coherent and understandable staff structure in the County Clerk's office, providing electronic real time fish and game permits to members of the public, records retention and storage fundamentals meeting the national standard and a host of other minor technological and staff improvements.

Mr. Wilson said it was a privilege to serve the people of Crawford County and he said he hoped his work meant something positive to the taxpayers of the county. He said he will miss the personal relationships he has developed over time with the people he represented but he also made note that his new employment was a once in a lifetime chance to make a the environment better and relieve the people of the United States from their dependence on foreign oil.

Mr. Wilson said he can be reached by constituents at e3biofuels{at}gmail.com Please replace the {at} with the at sign above the number two key.   

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