Infignos Media - Longtime commissioner wins nomination for Calhoun County circuit clerk

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Longtime commissioner wins nomination for Calhoun County circuit clerk

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Long-time Calhoun County Commissioner Eli Henderson has a few more months of work ahead of him in his effort to switch political jobs.

Henderson, 75, of Wellborn, won a tight Republican primary race for Calhoun County circuit clerk Tuesday with 52 percent of the vote. He defeated Tina Walker, 48, of Ohatchee, a retired circuit clerk’s office worker.

In August, Henderson, an 18-year commission veteran, became a Republican. He said he no longer felt at home in the Democratic Party.

Henderson will face legal assistant Missy Hall, a 39-year-old Democrat of Oxford, in the November general election. The office was left open when current Circuit Clerk Ted Hooks decided in January not to run for re-election.

“I’m kind of excited,” Henderson said after learning he had won the primary. “I’m glad the voters chose me for another career and, hopefully, we’ll get some changes made over there.”

Henderson said he was prepared for his Democratic opponent.

“I feel very comfortable at where we are at at this time,” he said.

Walker was disappointed with the Tuesday results, but was proud of what she accomplished.

“I feel like I did my very best and the county voters have spoken,” she said. “They wanted a polished politician and not an experienced candidate.”

Walker, who retired from the clerk’s office in April after working 25 years there, said she did not know whether she would run for the circuit clerk’s office again, even though her defeat was by a narrow margin.

“It was a good race,” she said. “I appreciate my supporters.”

Henderson said Walker fought a tough race.

“She had signs up throughout the county, and I had to work about as hard as she did,” he said.

The circuit clerk heads the chief administrative office of the court system, accounts for all the money going in and out of the courts, and is in charge of summoning, organizing and paying jurors. In addition, the circuit clerk is the official custodian of court records, oversees the issuing of warrants in district court, handles payments of all traffic tickets, handles lawsuits more than $10,000, handles the filing of court motions, and handles alimony payments and divorce filings.

Hall said she was ready to face Henderson in the general election.

“I’m looking forward to it and running against him,” she said. “He’s a good person and done a lot for this county, but I think I’m more qualified.”

Henderson has said he would bring political expertise to the job and use that expertise to try and obtain additional funding for the office, which has faced significant cuts in the past year. Hall has said she is more prepared for the job due to her nine years working as an assistant for former Calhoun County Circuit Judge Joel Laird.

“Eli doesn’t have any experience at all working in the judicial system,” Hall said.

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Keywords: Calhoun County, circuit clerk, Eli Henderson, political,

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