Clayton County Recorder resigns
Supervisors plan to fill post by appointment
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
Clayton County is searching for a new recorder. The board of supervisors last week announced its intention to fill the elected post by appointment following the resignation of long-time county recorder Sue Meyer.
According to the notice in this week’s Times-Register, the vacancy will be effective Dec. 20, and the appointment will be until the next general election in November 2026.
The Clayton County Board of Supervisors will interview for the position at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Interested eligible electors who have resided in Clayton County for 60 days prior to the appointment are encouraged to apply.
Electors of Clayton County have the right to file a petition requiring the vacancy be filled by special election. According to the notice, a petition must be filed with the county auditor within 14 days after the first publication (Nov. 20) of the notice or within 14 days after the appointment is made, whichever is later. The petition should contain signatures of eligible electors of the county equal in number to at least 10 percent of the votes cast in Clayton County for the office of president of the United States in the November 2024 election, which is 940 signatures.
Meyer served as deputy in the recorder’s office for 17 years, before seeking election as Clayton County Recorder in 2002. She’s held the office since, most recently being re-elected in 2022.
During a 2022 candidate forum, Meyer said the recorder’s biggest duty is to record all documents affected by real estate. “When you buy a piece of property, you either buy it by deed or by contract. It’s very important to get your documents recorded,” she explained. “It also is the financial stability of our county because, when you record a deed, you more than likely have also borrowed money to buy that property. That mortgage needs to be recorded as well.”
The Clayton County website describes the recorder’s responsibilities as recording, at length, all instruments of record which may be filed, consisting principally of deeds, mortgages, contracts, assignments, affidavits, releases, condemnation proceedings, veterans’ records, plats, leases and other miscellaneous papers.
The county recorder is the custodian of birth, death and marriage records and issues certified copies of these records. The recorder issues marriage licenses, processes passport photos and issues registration certificates and titles for boats, snowmobiles and off-road vehicles, as well as hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and trout and duck habitat stamps.
The recorder’s office is the oldest county office in Iowa, dating back to 1839. “We archive everything in our office every day. Whatever happens in our office today is archived for tomorrow and for the future,” Meyer said at the 2022 forum.
