Although it might seem like a bland office, that of Orange County clerk-recorder affects everyone. It handles many functions, including birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and real estate deeds. It also performs civil wedding ceremonies.<\/p>\n
Incumbent Hugh Nguyen<\/a> is running and will be tough to beat in the June 2 primary. In office since 2013, he won<\/a> reelection 84.6% of the vote in 2022 and 79.1% in 2018. Even so, we much prefer to see incumbents challenged, if only so they feel the competitive pressure to perform.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n So we\u2019re pleased he faces Maria Holly Barraza<\/a>, who since 2019 has been a records data specialist with the Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Department in a 24-hour unit. Before that, she was a staffer with the OC Registrar of Voters. She earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice administration from National University.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the importance of legal compliance, accessibility and providing resources to the public,\u201d she told us. \u201cI want transparency, accuracy and, above all, integrity.\u201d She said her current role interfaces with the court system, handling warrants, discovery and subpoenas. Her duties include properly reporting deaths and verifying identities, \u201cso errors don\u2019t negatively impact individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n Barraza\u2019s biggest obstacle is Nguyen has earned a reputation for efficiency and innovation. First employed in 1993 by Clerk-Recorder Gary Granville, Nguyen told us he remembered helping OC become the first county in America to implement electronic-document recording.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once in the top job, he built a system that automatically indexes up to 700 documents a day. That reduced the number of clerks doing that job from 16 to three, saving $8 million over 12 years. No one was fired because employees were reassigned, promoted or retired.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other safeguards include cameras recording anyone who comes in to record a real property document, and a \u201ccourtesy notice\u201d sent to the owner as an extra check. That\u2019s impressive because proper documentation is essential to secure property rights in a free society.<\/p>\n He also instituted a 24\/7 live chat on his website, OCRecorder.com<\/a>. Called CRBot, it greets the visitor, \u201cHello and welcome to the Orange County Clerk Recorder\u2019s Office virtual assistant!\u201d For those allergic to AI \u201cbots,\u201d he has four or five staffers available by phone during business hours.<\/p>\n