By Joe Johnson
Voters are going to the polls today Tuesday, to choose the next clerk of Superior and State Courts for Athens-Clarke County.
Eligible residents will be deciding on who replaces Beverly Logan, who retired on May 31 after over 30 years of service.
Voters will be asked to choose between Elisa Zarate, the county's the court administrator who was appointed as interim clerk to complete Logan's term, and Andrew Griffeth, a 10-year veteran of the clerk's office who currently serves as deputy clerk.
Zarate served for over three years as administrator for the six courts comprising the Athens-Clarke County court system and for seven years as program coordinator for the Treatment and Accountability Court.
Griffeth, who has been deputy clerk since 2014, oversees the jury process for State and Superior and courts. He has served as a clerk with the Family Violence Unit and was a representative on the Athens Board of Equalization vs Georgia.
I voted for Andrew. But I have no problem with Ms. Zarate. As far as I know she has done a good job.
However, what scared the life out of me was when I got two texts from Deborah Gonzales who said she was endorsing Ms. Zarate and that I should vote for her. That sealed the decision for me.
Ms. Gonzales doesn’t have the capacity to do her own job, but she has time to endorse someone else? If Deborah Gonzales told me to vote for Jesus, I’d campaign for Beelzebub.