Kelli White

Current Smith County Treasurer Kelli White is being challenged in the March 1 primary by Jamie Boersma.

Both candidates filed with the Republican Party.

The Smith County Treasurer works with each county department.

Jamie Boersma

Boersma said she has always had a passion for government and felt it was a good time to “step in and give back to the community.”

Boersma is looking to bring a fresh perspective into the office and help bridge all of the county departments together, she said.

The treasurer’s office is like the hub, or banker, of the county and it is essential for it to operate effectively so “the whole body can operate,” Boersma said.

Other county departments work as more of the face of the county, so it’s important to “provide them with what they need in a timely way so they can do their job and serve the people who live (in Smith County) to the best of their ability,” Boersma said.

As Smith County grows, each department needs to effectively “speak” to one another, she said. With research and from what she has been told by different county departments, the county government departments don’t have the same technology to do this, Boersma added.

If elected, a goal of hers is to be sure technology is in place to bridge the gap between departments, she said.

Population is growing and many new developments are coming to the county, Boersma said. As such, it is important to have technology in place now rather than trying to implement it later, she added.

Boersma said in her current position as a coordinator for two East Texas commercial construction companies, she acts as a liaison between owners, architects, investment firms, internal and field staff and more.

Working in construction taught her much about technology and bringing people together, Boersma said. She would be prepared to work as a “fluid whole” with the county, she said.

Boersma has lived in Tyler for most of her life and graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in journalism and public relations.

At a young age Boersma said, “One of the biggest lessons I learned by leading is that the best way to lead is by serving,” and she intends to do the for the county.

Kelli White

For about 17 years White has been serving as Smith County’s treasurer. She was hired in 2000 as former treasurer Joyce Smith’s assistant, White said.

“I think of myself as a public servant rather than a politician … as a treasurer,” White said.

White said she was hired as an assistant in order to be trained for the position. She added that she would like to do the same thing for the future treasurer.

In her time as an assistant, White said she got certified as an investment officer and learned the ins and outs of the position.

“We probably have 40 brand new treasurers coming in (throughout) the state and we’ll lose a dozen of those in the first quarter because they didn’t know what they were getting into,” White said. “They thought they could just walk in and be a manager and that’s not the case.”

As treasurer, White said she is responsible for several things in the county including receipting, depositing, looking at checking accounts and making sure they are collateralized, cash trial balance and receipt disbursement, state reports, payroll and more.

As the county continues to grow, so do the responsibilities of the treasurer, she said.

When she first took office White said she was told, “This is not a politics job, we have to work with everyone.”

The treasurer’s office doesn’t work face to face with people as much as other departments, White said. However, the office plays a big role in serving the numerous county departments and the taxpayers.

“I enjoy knowing that we run the office as efficiently as we can and we save taxpayers as much money as we can and we earn them as much money as we can in investments,” White said.

White is from Tyler and went to school at Stephen F. Austin University. She worked in the accounting office at Walmart, which was similar to her job as the assistant county treasurer, White added.

White’s family has lived in Smith County for as long as she can remember and she thinks of it as “a legacy to serve this community,” White said.