About Your County Clerk
Sharon Vance, County Clerk
and Ex-Officio Clerk of Superior Court since January 2007, previously
served as Chief Deputy Clerk for Skamania County since 1987.
Assisting in the
duties of the County Clerk are: Paula Seaman, Chief Deputy Clerk, 2001; Grace
Cross, Criminal Deputy Clerk, 2006; Olivia Munsch, Civil Deputy Clerk, 2007; and
Patti Midland, Collection Assistant, 2006.
The County Clerk
The
County Clerk is one of several independent, elected officials provided by the
Washington State Constitution (Article IV, Sec 26), with specific and special
duties assigned by statute, as well as local and state court rules. The position of County Clerk is best characterized
as the administrative and financial officer of the Superior Court. The County Clerk’s purpose is to ensure the
separation of powers among the three branches of government by preserving the
integrity of the judiciary. Those three
branches are Executive, Judicial, and Legislative.
This purpose is accomplished in
three ways:
| By being
independent of the judicial branch, the Clerk protects the judiciary from the
appearance of impropriety or unfairness in the setting of cases,
implementation of orders, or investment of funds. |
|
|
|
The
Clerk is located in the Executive Branch of government and provides the
avenue for external oversight of the judiciary without legislative or
executive branch interference with its actions, integrity or independence. |
|
|
As an
independent elected official, the Clerk preserves for the public unrestrained
access to a fair, accurate, and independently established record of the
opinions, decisions, and judgments of the court. |
Contact Information
Telephone
509-427-3770
FAX
509-427-3777
Physical Address
240 NW Vancouver Avenue, Room 33, Stevenson, WA 98648
Mailing Address
P.O.
Box 790, Stevenson, WA 98648
Electronic mail
General
Information: vance@co.skamania.wa.us
Webmaster: terryb@co.skamania.wa.us