Recorder candidates run on experience

WASHINGTON — Both county recorder candidates Dawn Fall-Hayes and Teresa Mangold have local roots and impressive, if differing, qualifications.

While the office isn’t especially political, it is filled by a competitive election, something the candidates said they felt was important.

“I think having the public weigh in on who they think would be best-suited for that job is important,” Mangold said. “It plays an important part … and the public gets a say in it, and I think it’s important to maintain that.”

Fall-Hayes urged voters to make their choice based on qualifications.

“It’s a position that should be based on work experience and how you would interact with the community and such,” she said.

Who they are

Teresa Mangold is an administrative assistant at the Iowa DNR office in Washington, which covers a sizable chunk of the state. She said the work set her up for success as a county recorder.

“We deal with records there, we cover 16 counties and we maintain the records for those 16 counties,” she said. “I’m familiar with having them available to the public and keeping them updated and organized … with my background at the DNR and dealing with records there, I thought I would be a good candidate.”

Dawn Fall-Hayes has held a variety of jobs working directly with people. She worked for 17 years in her family’s insurance business, has real estate and banking experience, and now owns the Korner Kremery in Washington. She said the background emphasized record-keeping.

“When I ran the insurance business, I maintained the premium fund account and did the bank deposits, the same goes for being a small-business owner, you’ve got to keep track of your money and finance,” she said. “Following state rules and making sure that homes are in compliance, I feel like that’s a big plus, too.”

Why they’re running for office

Fall-Hayes said she was most interested in the parts of the office that involved working with people.

“Working with the public, serving the public, building customer relationships (are) all part of the position for the recorder,” she said. “I feel like I’m trusted in the community.”

Mangold said she wanted to shift from her broader public service to a more local one.

“I’m in state government, and so government has always been a part of my life for the last 15 years,” she said. “A county level is a little more local, it interested me in that aspect … dealing with the local public. I’ve been around here most of my life and know a lot of people.”

Their pitch to voters

The recorder’s office is less political than most elected positions. As such, the candidates’ pitch to voters is a matter of personal appeal, rather than particular policy.

Mangold pitched herself as an experienced candidate with the skills to succeed.

“I’m a hard worker and I have really great attention to detail,” she said. “My experience with working with records at the state level, covering 16 counties, we have a very large file room and we deal with Freedom of Information Act requests quite often, so I’m familiar with the public accessing the public records. I think my experience and my determination to do a great job and just being a local person, I think I’m well-suited.”

Fall-Hayes said she also was running on her experience as a leader.

“I don’t really have a platform, it’s just, ‘Look at my work experience,’ there is no pitch other than, ‘I’d be happy to serve the people of the community,” she said. “The management experience was very helpful in resolving conflicts and working through situations (and) helping staff work as a team.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com