Terry Morrow (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Theresa “Terry” Morrow said she would lead the Smith County District Clerk’s Office by example.

Morrow, 58, said she could be the example because she’s worked in the office for 11 years and has experience with both the criminal and civil paperwork the office handles.

“If I was the boss, I think I would be a walking boss by asking, ‘Hey, do you need help?’ or ‘Why are you behind on you work?’ or ‘What are these folders for?’” she said. “I want to be a hands-on boss if you need help to get caught up.”

Morrow faces Penny Clarkston and Dawn Colclasure in the March 6 Republican primary. There is no Democratic opposition in the race.

Morrow started her career in retail, working for 22 years at Kmart, where she supervised various departments and was promoted to receiving manager before the Tyler store closed. Soon after that, she transitioned into government work.

Morrow worked as a child support clerk for the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

“I got all the folders ready for court, and after court I processed all the paperwork and put information in the attorney general database so people could get child support,” she said.

Two years later, in 2007, she came to work for the Smith County District Clerk’s Office.

Initially she worked with the 321st District Court, which exclusively handles civil cases — including divorces, child custody and Child Protective Service cases.

There she handled child support matters from the county side and paperwork for divorces, among other duties.

Currently, she’s on the felony side of the office, responsible for paperwork out of the 241st District Court, which handles felony crimes.

Morrow said there is currently a divide in the office — people who work with civil cases and those who work with criminal ones.

Having worked for both sides, Morrow said she wants to see the office completely cross-trained to ensure work doesn’t pile up if someone is sick or on vacation.

She said the office needs a strong leader. Some workers finish their work early and chat with co-workers instead of helping someone else complete their duties. She said there is quite a bit of cutting up, and it sometimes interrupts court while it’s in session.

“Our office needs a strong leader,” she said. “Someone who’s not afraid of hard work. Someone who can take control of our office and make sure we are getting cross-trained, we are getting to customers in a timely manner, making sure paperwork is getting scanned in daily and that e-files are processed in a timely manner.”

She also said based on the workload, several positions could be consolidated within the department — primarily ones working with courts that are fully paperless because there’s less scanning and other manual work.

Working from within, Morrow said she has what it takes to shape up operations.

“I have the desire to take the clerk’s office to the next level, and the determination to change the clerk’s office to be the best in Texas.”

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