THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510140102
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
VISTA K. COTTEN makes no bones about it. She is leading a revolution.
Her charge: To bring new blood to what she considers an outdated office stuck in the ``Jurassic Park era.''
The 49-year-old Republican is heading a strident campaign against Democratic incumbent Lillie M. ``Lil'' Hart for the office of clerk of Circuit Court.
``We just can't operate and function the way we have in the past,'' Cotten said. ``It's not the way an office in the 1990s should function.''
Since July, Cotten has begun a vigorous door-to-door campaign. Seven days a week, Cotten and volunteers have been espousing the need for new blood in the clerk's office.
``I'm taking my campaign to the people,'' Cotten said. ``It's an excellent way to gauge the thinking of our constituents.''
Her proselytizers stress the need for updated technology, user-friendly services, extended hours and the principles of private enterprise for public service.
``The bureaucracy can learn a lot from private enterprise,'' Cotten said in spite of assertions by her opponent that government can't be run like a private business.
Cotten, a graduate of East Carolina University, is co-owner and co-operator of Cotten & Taylor Insurance Group.
``I've been very successful,'' she said. ``There were certain things I wanted to concentrate on in business.''
The management skills she's gained from working in the private sector for 23 years could be put to use in the clerk's office, Cotten said.
``I love a challenge,'' Cotten said. ``I think I could make a real difference in the office.''
And Cotten is sparing no expense in ensuring that her zeal and platform of change are noticed.
Infomercials are running every Sunday, Monday and Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. on TCI cable channel 10 in Chesapeake.
``It's an expensive campaign,'' Cotten said. ``It's costing more than it should.''
However, ``I've kept my campaign strictly on the issues,'' she said. ``I wanted to run an above-board . . . first-class campaign.''
Cotten's interest in public service and politics is not new. Her grandfather, Herbert Cotten, was a prosperous businessman and community leader in North Carolina during the Depression and under Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He helped other struggling families.
Five years ago, after being recognized as Chesapeake's ``Woman of the Year'' for 1989, Cotten even predicted that she might run for city treasurer, commissioner of the revenue or clerk of court.
``I really believed when I made that prognostication that I could bring something new to that office,'' Cotten said. ``It's one of the few offices all of us will have some dealing with before we leave this life.''
Cotten estimated that by the year 2000 a burgeoning city population of around 200,000 people would put even greater stress on an outdated system.
The office can be a ``pulpit'' to help effect change, Cotten said. ``You've got to use it the right way in the interests of your people.
``Their mode of operation is so outdated,'' she said. ``We need to bring all our constitutional offices up to the 20th century.''
While General Assembly funding may be limited, there are other sources available, Cotten said, such as grant monies and money given to pilot programs in innovative cities.
But, ``you're not going to get those funds if you don't go after them,'' she said.
Another strategy to deal with limited funding is to lobby area and state legislators directly for additional funds.
``We live in a political world,'' Cotten said. ``I want to have a close working relationship with my legislative delegates. If I need something for the clerk's office, I'm going to ask them for that.''
Another theme in Cotton's platform is making the office more user-friendly by establishing a satellite office connected by a modem for people who live in Western Branch, instead of requiring them to drive several miles away to Great Bridge.
She has suggested creating an informational brochure that would provide citizens with information on what documents they need to bring in order to probate a will, apply for a concealed weapons permit or to obtain other services.
``I want to make it very customer-friendly,'' she said.
Other problems Cotten has cited in the clerk's office are poor cross-training of employees, low morale and a need for a merit-based incentive program for employees.
``What I'm looking for is a more flexible working environment,'' Cotten said. ``We've got some good employees down there, but they're not challenged.
``You can't operate a functional business if you've got dissatisfied, ill-willed employees,'' she added.
``I think Ms. Hart is a nice person,'' Cotten said, but ``Chesapeake is slowly moving out from the old era to the new era.'' MEMO: WHAT DOES THE CLERK DO, ANYWAY?
The clerk of court is primarily a record keeper, the official who
oversees paperwork that's vital to most peoples' lives, such as
lawsuits, criminal cases, marriages, divorces, probates and deeds.
The Virginia State Constitution requires cities and counties to elect
a clerk every eight years.
The Chesapeake clerk, now paid a salary of $85,479 a year, oversees a
staff of 28. The office serves three judges.
ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo on cover by Steve Earley, Staff
Vista Cotten
Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
I could bring something new to that office. It's one of the few
offices all of us will have some dealing with before we leave this
life.''
We just can't operate and function the way we have in the past. It's
not the way an office in the 1990s should function.''
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE CLERK OF COURT CANDIDATE PROFILE BIOGRAPHY by CNB