BURLINGTON — Boone County Democrats are in for a fight to defend one of the few courthouse seats the party still holds.

        Democratic incumbent Marilyn Rouse, elected to her first term as county clerk in 1998, is being challenged in the November 2002 election by Florence Republican Jay Hall.

        Mr. Hall, 30, is a paralegal and longtime Republican Party official who has already raised more money that Ms. Rouse. He has $6,000, compared to $1,500 for the incumbent.

        “At this point in the campaign we are exactly where we want to be, and we are looking forward to next year,” said Michael Wagner, Mr. Hall's campaign chairman.

        But Ms. Rouse said her experience and the changes she has made in the office puts her in a strong political position.

        “I have experience, and I've made a lot of positive changes in the office,” Ms. Rouse said Monday.

        Mrs. Rouse has put two years of documents from the clerk's office — mortgage, deeds and other information — on the office's Web site. She hopes to increase that to 10 years by the end of 2002.

        She also opened a satellite office in the Florence Government Center where county residents can process any work related to automobiles, including paying taxes and renewing their license plates.

        “People who live and work in that part of the county really love it because the office is convenient and it saves them from making a trip to Burlington,” where the main county courthouse is located, she said.

        Ms. Rouse's father, Jerry Rouse, was county clerk for 32 years. He retired in 1998, when Ms. Rouse was elected. She beat Republican Joyce Bonar in a tight race, 9,435 to 9,188.

        Ms. Rouse began working the courthouse in 1980, spending her time in the finance department and the clerk's office.

        Mr. Hall said he will work to improve the customer service and efficiency of the office.

        “I've talked to a lot of people who deal with the clerk's office, and many feel the clerk's office is more concerned about being an arm of Frankfort than representing the interests of people in Boone County,” Mr. Hall said.

        “After listening to their concerns, I am convinced that there is a real need for new leadership in the ... office,” he said.

        Mr. Hall has a long record of service in the Republican Party. He was chairman of the Boone County Republican Party from 1996 to 1999, when the GOP overtook Democrats in the number of registered voters in Boone County. The county is now the largest county in Kentucky controlled by the Republicans, who outnumber Democrats 24,532 to 21,599.

        He also chaired the Fourth District GOP and is a member of the State Executive Committee of the Republican Party.

        The Boone County Clerk's office has an annual budget of about $20 million.

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