This is a combination of “thank you” and a brief civics lesson.

In a city such as ours, the responsibility to conduct an election is vested in the City Clerk’s office.  Our City Clerk, Laura Pierce, not only loves conducting elections, but she accepts that responsibility with the utmost seriousness.  Protecting the integrity of the voting process is first and foremost, as well as making certain that qualified voters can cast their ballot efficiently and to have confidence in the process of doing so.  In addition to Laura’s years of experience and education, she also possesses the distinguished certifications as a Master Municipal Clerk from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks and Michigan Professional Municipal Clerk/Level II from the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks.  Earning these designations means hours of training and education.  And when it comes to being a City Clerk, training and education is a lifelong endeavor.  As a side note, Laura is an appointed official.  That means that in Auburn Hills, she is appointed by the City Council and reports to the City Manager, and was selected based on outstanding credentials.  She is not an elected official.

Carrying out an election is not something you can do single-handedly.  Laura is supported each day by her Deputy City Clerk, Kris Klassen, who also has significant responsibilities in carrying out the day-to-day operation of the City Clerk’s office as well as elections.  And to complete the staff, Rolanda Peet is a member of the office and assists with many of the daily duties and services that the City Clerk’s office provides to the community.  While all three do an outstanding job for the city each and every day, they are certainly recognized for the overwhelming task they carried out of conducting a Presidential election last week.  And the results was a job well done! 

And finally, we can’t forget to thank all of the city employees and the many election worker’s who give of their time to carry out the election, starting in the very early morning hours and working well into the night.  We could never do it without them.

Congratulations to our City Clerk’s office for the great work they performed last Tuesday.  We are grateful to you for all your hard work and the high standards you have set to carry out any election.

Tom Tanghe, City Manager