For the last seven years, Clarissa Webster has held the seat of Ector County district clerk and hopes to hold on to it but has a challenger this election in the GOP primary — Christina “Chris” Bryson.
There is no Democrat in the race so the GOP primary is a winner take all.
Webster is serving her second term as district clerk. Bryson has spent the last 23 years as an adult probation officer for Ector County Community Supervision Corrections Department.
The primary election is March 1. Early voting will begin Monday and ends on Feb. 25.
WEBSTER
Webster, 48, graduated from Permian Basin Christian School in 1990 and then continued her education at Pensacola Christian College and then received her certification as a paralegal from the National Association of Legal Assistants in 2007.
When Webster was first elected to the position of district clerk, she was tasked with moving records from paper to digital. All documents from court proceedings, whether it’s criminal or civil, are scanned and put into the Ector County Portal.
“I knew that when we moved to the digital age that all that history would need to be protected and handled well,” Webster said. “It was the thing that got me excited about the job in the beginning. We are still in the middle of that and that’s the reason I want to stay.”
Webster said the move from paper to digital has also freed up room throughout the courthouse so there’s less of a need for file cabinets. She said the move to digital can also help to send off paperwork to judges, lawyers or members of the public.
Though she said she believes she has accomplished quite a bit over the last seven years as district clerk, Webster said there’s more that needs to be done especially since technology is changing rapidly from year to year.
“We want to know what is the future of technology and we have to plan for that,” Webster said. “It will ensure what we are doing right now isn’t going to break us when we move to the next thing.”
BRYSON
Bryson, 53, was born and raised in Odessa. She graduated from Odessa High School in 1987 and then graduated from UTPB in 1998 with a degree in behavioral science (psychology). Bryson has prior knowledge of the district clerk’s office as she worked there for five years under Jackie Sue Barnes, who retired from the position in 2002.
Bryson also worked for one year as the director of the compliance department where she worked with individuals having to make payments to the county for court costs.
For the last 23 years, Bryson has worked as an adult probation officer for Ector County Community Supervision Corrections Department. Bryson said she has worked closely with the district clerk’s office, district attorney’s office and the district judges.
Bryson detailed what she would change about the district clerk’s office as she would allow the deputy clerks back into courtrooms. “The deputy clerks have been banished from the courtrooms by the current clerk.”
“I will return the clerks to the courtrooms to make the court system function properly,” Bryson said.
