Guilty pleas — 05/13/09

May 12, 2009 02:12 pm

— Former Elliott County Clerk Reeda S. Ison has pleaded guilty to 40 misdemeanor charges in connection with her operation of the clerk’s office, but in accepting the plea bargain in the case, Special Judge John David Preston clearly indicated that Ison’s misdeeds had much more to do with ineptness than criminal intent.
The conclusion is clear: The people of Elliott County elected a clerk who lacked the ability to perform her official duties, and because of that, money from the clerk’s office was mishandled. While Ison has been ordered to make restitution of $27,964 within two years, her 12-month jail sentence will be lifted if she makes that payment.
Ison also agreed to never again seek public office. That part of the plea bargain probably was unnecessary. The events of the past few months likely would make it impossible for the former clerk to be elected to any office.
Ison shut down her office April 28 and officially resigned two days later. Elliott County Judge-Executive David Blair immediately appointed Sheila Blevins to serve the remainder of Ison’s term, which expires at the end of 2010. Blevins finished second to Ison in the 2006 Democratic primary. As is typical in overwhelmingly Democratic Elliott County, no Republican ran for the clerk’s seat that year.
Ison was indicted in June of 2008 on 19 felony charged stemming from the mismanagement of office in the clerk’s office, a fee office which handles thousands of dollars annually from auto registration, the sale of licenses for marriage, hunting and fishing, and fees for the transfer of property. Most of the duties of the clerk’s office are clerical in nature and require the skills of individuals who can handle money. Ison apparently lacked those skills.
Elliott Countians clearly elected the wrong person in choosing Ison as county clerk. Thus, they share at least some responsibility for her failures in office.
It takes more than just having a well-known name and being the candidate of the right political party to be able to perform the duties of an elective office. Ison may have had the best of intentions in operating the clerk’s office, but she was not up to the job. Getting her out of her elected office as soon as possible was essential for the proper handling of public funds.