Jackson County’s new county clerk may not have much political capital yet, but she knows plenty about what it’s going to take to run that office.

That’s because Republican Melissa Hayes has spent the past eight years working under the tutelage of present Clerk Amanda Lowery, who was limited to two terms by state statute.

Hayes, who lives in Seymour, captured the office Tuesday by outpolling Democrat Kathy Schafstall of Seymour by 8,369 or 58 percent of the votes to 6,049 votes or 42 percent.

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There’s no need to worry about Lowery’s fate, however, because she beat political newcomer Cliff Sommers, a Democrat from Brownstown, for the recorder’s office. Lowery, who lives in Vallonia, claimed 68 percent or 9,766 votes to 32 percent or 4,678 votes for Sommers, who lives in Brownstown.

Hayes, who presently is first deputy of Jackson Superior Court II, said she was thrilled with the her victory and worked hard for it.

“I was optimistic,” she said. “Of course, you never know. I knocked on as many doors as I could. We went to every supper we could get to, and we did the mailers and parades.”

Schafstall, who also lives in Seymour, said the campaign was a good experience.

“I learned a lot,” she said.

Schafstall said it’s too early to tell if she might take a try for elected office in the future.

“I don’t know,” she said. “We’ll see.”

Lowery said it’s too early to tell what kind of changes she might implement in the recorder’s office, but when she became clerk eight years ago, she looked for ways to save the county money.

That’s a trend she expects to continue once she moves into the recorder’s office, which is responsible for recording land records and other miscellaneous records.

She does expect it to be a little less hectic than the clerk’s office, which involves a myriad of duties, from issuing marriage licenses to processing child support payments and from passport applications to managing voter registrations and elections. The office also handles processing court documents for all legal cases in local courts.

Hayes said there’s still going to be a learning curve, especially with the move of the clerk’s office to the new judicial center across the street from the courthouse.

“We’re going to ease into that because we don’t know how it’s all going to work when we get there,” she said of the move. “We’re going to start doing some training.”

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Jackson County clerk

Melissa Elkins Hayes (R) 8,369

Kathy Schafstall (D) 6,049

Jackson County recorder

Amanda Cunningham Lowery (R) 9,766

Clifford L. Sommers (D) 4,678

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