To the Citizens of Lenoir County,

First and foremost, I would like to express my upmost appreciation for every one of you and your outpouring of support for me and my family during this election season.  I am constantly reminded every day that in order to effect positive change, you must have a village of people with you, and that is exactly what I have been blessed with.  

I would like to take a moment of your time to remind everyone that throughout this election season, my family and I have worked tirelessly to prove why I am worthy of your vote.  It has been a very humbling experience.  I started this race registered as an independent voter because I believe in voting for the right person for the job, not for the person most influenced by a political party.  What many people didn’t see is that in order to even be placed on the ballot as an Independent Candidate, the first step was to acquire nearly 1500 in person, legible signatures from registered voters in Lenoir County.  My team and I were able to accomplish this task in about 6 weeks.  I was then able to focus on my qualifications and earning your votes.  Those qualifications include working 8 years in the Lenoir County Clerk’s Office and nearly 4 years in the Wayne County Clerk’s Office where I currently work today.  With these different experiences, I have found myself learning the traits of successful supervisors and remembering the traits of the unsuccessful ones, while at the same time developing my own ways of becoming a leader.  Some of these traits that I have learned that will be important to the role of Clerk of Superior Court are the ability to lead by example, identify the difference in right and wrong, motivate team members through my work ethic and proactive approach to problem solving, and the ability to promote great customer service techniques.  During my career, I have also had the opportunity to be trained in the criminal courtroom division, bond forfeitures, processing and disposition of criminal cases, estates, and special proceedings.   

My goals as your next Clerk of Court include being seen, being someone that is knowledgeable and current on the ever-changing laws and legal opinions, someone that will foster a positive work environment for my team, and someone that promotes positive customer service that leads everyone to the most favorable outcome.  While I believe that each of these goals are equally important, I truly believe that they cannot be accomplished without first eliminating the political pressures forced on the employees of the clerk’s office.  As your next clerk, I will never ask any employee to work a poll, place a sign, or swear their allegiance to my campaign.  If I do my job correctly, professionally, and without unnecessary scare tactics, I believe I will have the support of my team in the future.  I will follow and educate my team on the State of North Carolina Limitation of Political Activity Policy and how it benefits them.  

With all of this in mind, I kindly ask for you to vote for me, Rachel C. Turner, a leader that will promote a positive and noticeable change for both the citizens that visit the Lenoir County Clerk’s Office and for the employees of the Clerk’s Office.  Your vote for me will ensure that you have a clerk that is knowledgeable, experienced, and approachable.

Please remember that early voting will began on October 20th and run until November 5th and Election Day is November 8th.  

Sincerely, 

Rachel C. Turner 

Candidate for Lenoir County Clerk of Court