Appointed by Chief Judge Ed Black upon the retirement of predecessor Bonnie Friedrichs earlier this year, Bertrand has worked in the county Clerk’s Office since 2018, years she calls crucial preparation to serve the county in the many-faceted role of clerk.

Hess, an Alpena city councilwoman for three-plus years before she moved out of the city in 2021, wants to bring a fresh perspective and a new standard of customer service to the office.

Though only officially county clerk for three months, Bertrand has been training for the role since she joined the Clerk’s Office in 2018, she said.

Knowing of her intended retirement, Friedrichs wanted to train someone to step into her role, and Bertrand volunteered, she said.

Amber Hess

A county clerk needs a full set of job skills for each of many varied tasks as he or she protects the official record of important moments of people’s lives, said Bertrand, pointing to her experience handling birth, marriage, and death certificates, gun licenses, court records, and other vital documents.

Handling those documents requires knowledge of extensive legal procedures surrounding them to protect the public. A clerk must be detailed and adamant, even in the face of disgruntled customers, in following those rules to keep sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands, Bertrand said.

A county clerk must also know and follow a complicated set of rules concerning elections to ensure that the election process is run fairly. Bertrand would assume the office already knowing those rules, giving her a leg up on her competition, she said.

As a first contact for many residents seeking help from the county, the clerk acts as unofficial secretary for the county, fielding calls and steering residents toward the help they need.

With experience working with other county entities — treasurer, police, road commission, library, and more — as part of her tenure in the clerk’s office, Bertrand said she is prepared to provide that needed link for residents.

A truly fresh perspective, contender Hess countered, requires someone not tutored by a predecessor who filled the role for multiple decades.

With a background in administration, finance, marketing, and human services, along with elected experience as a city councilwoman, Hess said she feels capable and qualified to run an office and handle the county’s extensive recordkeeping needs.

She first considered running for the county clerk position upon hearing the news that the deadline for filing to run was approaching.

Eager to find a new way to serve the community after leaving the Alpena Municipal Council, she researched the clerk’s role and acquired and began studying a manual from the Michigan Association of County Clerks to learn about the job, Hess said.

She appears on the ballot as the only candidate with a totally new perspective, Hess said, pointing to Bertrand’s training under the tutelage of Friederichs, who filled the clerk position for two decades before retirement.

Should Hess win the nomination and the final election in November, she hopes Bertrand would stay on as chief deputy clerk, combining her experience with the fresh perspective Hess hopes to bring to the clerk’s role.

Hess would like to see a new service standard for the clerk’s office. As a customer at the counter, she feels office employees have given adequate service but left room for improvement in knowledge of the office’s functions and ability to meet the public’s needs.

Anyone in the office needs to be able to handle anything that happens at the window, Hess said, saying she would ensure proper training for the staff, including thorough preparation for elections.

She would also urge the office toward expanding service options that would allow the public to access needed documents electronically, Hess said.

The winner in the August primary will move on to the November ballot unopposed unless a third-party or independent candidate files later in the process, as no Democrat has filed for the seat.

The Bertrand file

* NAME: Keri Bertrand

* AGE: 45

* OCCUPATION: County clerk

* ELECTED EXPERIENCE: None

* HOME: Lachine

* FAMILY: Husband, three adult children

The Hess file

* NAME: Amber Hess

* AGE: 47

* OCCUPATION: Supply chain purchaser, Standard Industrial Corp., Posen

* ELECTED EXPERIENCE: Alpena Municipal Council, 2018 to 2021

* HOME: Lachine

* FAMILY: Husband

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