Meet the Candidate: Yuma County Recorder

Name: Robyn Stallworth Pouquette

Age: 36

Office running for: Yuma County recorder

Family: Married to Clay Pouquette, 5 children (Coleton, Nikki, Noah, C.J., Bobbi)

Party: Republican

Education: Yuma High School, Arizona Western College

Employment: Yuma County Sheriff's Office 1995-2001; Yuma County Clerk of Superior Court 2001-2007; licensed Arizona Realtor 2007-present; Yuma County Recorder 2009-present

To what organizations do you belong? Currently serving as secretary for the Crossroads Mission Board of Directors and vice president of the Arizona Association of County Recorders

What in your past experiences helps qualify you for this seat? Working within county government over the last several years, I was able to acquire the experience necessary to identify key management functions and organizational priorities that would benefit the office of Yuma County recorder. Having served as this community's Recorder since 2009, the several jurisdictional and federal elections the office has assisted in conducting have provided invaluable experience and knowledge in managing efficient elections with accuracy and integrity.

In addition, the property records functions of the office have greatly improved over the last few years of my term with the implementation of new technology that serves staff and the public with more timely and accurate property records information. It is of great importance to me as your county recorder to maintain accountability, accessibility and fiscal responsibility at all times for the department and its staff.

If elected, what is the one issue on which you would focus to improve Yuma's quality of life? How? Because of the direct duties of my current position, I feel my focus should remain within public outreach to communicate with all community members the information relative to voter registration and election participation. Through participation in local, state, and federal elections, I believe our community can directly ensure that their voices are heard. Public outreach should also encompass an ability to inform the community on various legislative issues that affect voting and elections each and every legislative session in the state of Arizona.

What do you think is the biggest challenge right now facing Yumans, and how would you change it? The economic challenges and unemployment in Yuma are among the biggest challenges facing our local communities and again, working as county recorder to provide the informative communication that allows the community to make informed decisions is important to maintain. As an elected office of Yuma County, the recorder has various opportunities to speak in support of legislation and local policy that can have a positive impact on the community as a whole and as a result, our local economy.

What would you do to make government more accessible? Accessibility is a must-have component of leadership. As your county recorder, it is my priority to continue to progress in areas that have direct benefit to the Yuma community. I have introduced online public records for Yuma County and have seen tremendously positive results from that accessibility. In addition, I have worked diligently alongside the elections department to incorporate vote centers in yuma to allow voters to have a more efficient election process on election day. All voters in Yuma County can now vote at any polling place despite their precinct placement. I believe this has been a positive change in our community and I look forward to tackling other projects to reach the same positive and effective results.

Who is your personal hero, and why? I'm fortunate to say I have more than one as my husband, Clay, and my parents are my personal heroes. Unfortunately, my father, Richard Stallworth, passed away and the loss was devastating. However, my father's passing and his remembrance motivate me to always maintain a strong work ethic and to exhibit a strong example for my children.