Nick Graham, 40, is a candidate for Bourbon County Clerk.

 

Graham has an associate’s degree in network administration from Labette Community College.

 

He has 20 years in information technology experience for local small businesses and education providers. He is a former Fort Scott City Commissioner.

 

“I love helping and interacting with people, which is not particularly common among IT guys, and the clerk’s office provides a ton of opportunities to help improve and streamline county services and communication that we can implement quickly and at little or no cost.”

“I also think I’m a strong coalition builder – there is a lot of silo mentality going on inside (and outside) the county government right now, and when that happens, the biggest loser is the taxpayer, as they get fragmented service and fragmented communication.  I’ve sat down with several elected and non-elected officials on the county level (and the city level) sharing my ideas and plans on ways we can make everyone’s job a little easier and provide a much smoother experience for our customers, the taxpayers.”

“Lastly, having worked in the technology side of public education and for small businesses with very limited budgets, I’ve learned how to improvise and innovate without spending a lot of money.  In a rural county like ours, that’s going to be more and more critical as time goes on, especially in economic times like these.”

What is your priority on day one?

“I have two main priorities for when I am sworn in as clerk:

1) Build a useful online presence for the county – provide quality online broadcasts of the meetings, start building an easily accessible and easy to use system so people can pull up public records online, and making it as easy as possible for people to do their business with the county without having to take a trip to the courthouse if they don’t want to.

2) Education.  The county clerk’s office is incredibly multifaceted, from taking minutes at commission meetings, to handling accounts payable, to overseeing all local elections, to being co-guardian of the budget with the treasurer.  And that’s just four of the fourteen core responsibilities.  It’s a critical position, and I intend to immerse myself in all the training and resources available to the clerk.  I’ve also established good working relationships with both current and former county clerks in the southeast Kansas area, so I feel like I’ve got a great support team in place.”

 

Not sure if you’re registered to vote or where to vote?

You may register to vote online, through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.

Check your voter registration status, the location of your polling place and view a sample ballot at VoterView by the Secretary of State.

The County Clerk is elected in November of Presidential Election years to a term of four years.  There are no term limits to this elected office.

The Bourbon County Clerk/Election Officer is responsible for a wide range of things under Kansas Law.  Some of those are listed here.

Advance Voting is available prior to each election.  You may advance vote in one of two ways:  By mail, by filing an application for a ballot to be mailed to you   OR   in-person, beginning at least one week prior to any election.