ST. JOSEPH – Sharon Tyler wears a lot of different hats in her job as the Berrien County Clerk. She is the county’s chief election official and registrar of vital statistics and serves as the clerk of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners, several county boards and the Circuit Court.
She oversees a staff of 20 full-time and two part-time employees located in three sites around the county, the Courthouse in St. Joseph, the Administration Center in St. Joseph and the South County Building in Niles.
As the chief election official, she presides over every election held in the county and she records and maintains birth, death, marriage and other certificates as the registrar of vital statistics. “People would be surprised by the numerous duties and the growing mandates the office performs from birth certificates to personal protection orders,” she said.
Her role as the clerk for the county board, the road commission, the jury board and the plat board require her to record and maintain the official minutes for all their regular, special and executive session meetings.
“Most people take for granted what the county clerk does,” she said. “They think we’re only involved in elections but I’m in charge of all vital records and thanks to a change in the weapons laws, concealed pistol licenses are now issued by the county clerk and the state police … My office pays all the bills, I sign everything.”
A typical week for her starts out in St. Joseph at the courthouse on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at the administration building in St. Joseph and Friday in Niles. She leaves Wednesday open to go where she is needed in a particular week.
Tyler, a Niles resident, is starting her second four-year term as county clerk after being re-elected last November. She has a strong background in public service, most recently serving two two-year terms as the 78th State Representative from 2009-2012 before becoming county clerk.
She spent 30 years working as an economic developer including serving as the executive director of the Southwestern Michigan Economic Growth Alliance and the Berrien County Manufacturers Council. She was the Economic Developer of the Year for the state of Michigan in 2004.
Her public service career also included serving as a Lincoln Charter Township Trustee, on the Lincoln Township Planning Commission and as the Interim City Manager for the city of Niles.
“My work as an economic developer, state representative and as an elected and appointed official helped me learn how to better work with people under extreme circumstances,” she said. “I’ve learned how to deal with differences of opinion as well as how important it is to build relationships with others.”
2016 was a particularly busy year for the clerk’s office. Election-wise, her office conducted three major and one small election as well as several local recounts and the statewide presidential recount. In addition, she and other Election Commissioners conducted four clarity hearings for recalls and approved the wording for two of them.
The presidential recount was particularly memorable. Tyler and other county clerks waited to hear when they could start their individual county recounts which finally began Dec. 7 at the south county building in Niles. “The Secretary of State anticipated the process would take us four days and we were able to complete the task the same day,” she said.
As she noted, she had to coordinate everything from the delivery of ballots and other materials from local clerks to the Niles courthouse to finding, preparing and training recount workers.
“In the end, 94 percent of Berrien County precincts were deemed recountable,” she said. “This figure placed Berrien County second out of the 10 Michigan counties who completed their recounts. This was a major team effort.”
The 2016 presidential election was also memorable for Tyler as she was able to attend not only the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio last summer but also the January inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. She is chairman of the Berrien County Republican Party.
“I was lucky enough to be a national delegate,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed American history and politics and seeing how it all relates. Then I was able to go to the inauguration … I recommend anyone who loves history to at least go once. It was an experience of a lifetime.”
One experience she would have rather not had last year was being in the courthouse on July 11 when an inmate shot and killed two courthouse bailiffs on the third floor of the courthouse. “We all remember when we saw them last, they were our heroes, they were always there when they were needed,” she said. “It will be a long time before we heal.”
As for what 2017 holds, she said the biggest project she’s working on right now is the purchase of new voting equipment. She’s working in conjunction with all the local clerks throughout the county to identify the equipment that fits everyone’s needs. She hopes to have the equipment purchased and people trained in time for the November election.
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