People who know me are aware of my interest in politics.  I usually control myself in polite company, including this space, although when writing on issues that affect my clients, such as our legislature systematically taking away the rights of victims, political issues inevitably come up.  I have avoided taking a stand in this newsletter on local elections.  Working in a diverse county (one with both Republican and Democratic judges) can be tricky for lawyers who go to the courthouse.

However, I cannot help but let you all in on a secret virtually every lawyer in Harris County knows:  We have a terrific District Clerk in Loren Jackson.

In the less than two years since Loren took office, he has brought the way Harris County lawyers do business into the 21st Century.  Go online and check out the District Clerk’s website at http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com.  You will find a vast array of information available at your fingertips.  Even more information is there for lawyers, such as copies of virtually every document on every case.  To get a feel for how revolutionary Loren’s work has been, check out the websites of other district clerks around the state, or even the country.  You will be impressed at how well we measure up.  And Loren’s work is not done.  He is trying to improve the way lawyers electronically file documents, including making it free.

Recently, I had a problem filing something on a Sunday.  Actually, it was my vacation designation, which is, as you can imagine, pretty important.  There was a hitch in the website, and Sunday was the deadline for filing, so I was in a pickle.  I emailed Loren and two of his assistants (I had their email addresses from the last time I had a problem).  Within two hours that Sunday, I received an email from one of the assistants telling me the website had been fixed.

I was so impressed, I wrote Loren and told him I would vote for him in the coming election, even if I did not recall if he was a Republican or a Democrat. He wrote back and thanked me, and then reminded me he was a Democrat.  I must admit my attention span wanders when I get down the ballot.  That might happen to you too.  However, when November rolls around, look far enough down the ballot for the District Clerk’s race, and remember what a great public servant we have in Loren Jackson.

The District Clerk serves all the citizens of Harris County.  In a perfect world, he would be elected on a non-partisan basis.  However, whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent, we all need to keep Loren on the job.