Name: Arthur ("Art") P. Zapolski

Age: 57

Address: 1202 North Stiles St.
                 Linden, NJ 07036

Length of Time in County: 20 years

Family Life:  Married to Dr. Alice T. Brittain, D.M.D. for over 27 years.  No children.

Education:

• Primary and secondary education in Queens, New York;
• Manhattan College, NY 1970-74, B.A. in English Literature 1974;
• Association of Cultural Exchange Certificate of Study in Archeology 1974, held at Merton College, Oxford University, England;
• St. John's University, NY 1974-74, Studied one year towards Masters in English Literature;
• Loyola University of New Orleans School of Law, LA, 1975-78, J.D.; and
• Tulane University School of Law, LA, 1989-90, Masters of Law in Admiralty.

Professional Life:

• Licensed to practice law in New York, Texas and New Jersey;
• Captain, US Air Force serving as a JAG (attorney) 1979-84 stationed in Texas and England;
• Private and government law practice in Texas 1985-89 which included being the legislative counsel for Steven Wolens (D) of Dallas, Texas House of Representatives, state capitol Austin, Texas for the 1989 legislative session;
• Private practice of law in New York City 1990-98;
• Adjunct Professor at Maritime College, State University of New York in 1996;
• Air Force Reserves 1984-2009, retired as a Colonel in the JAG Corps after serving in that capacity for 8 years;
• Solo law office in Linden, NJ since 1999; and
• Public Defender for the Borough of Roselle Park 2002 and the Borough's Alternate Public Defender from 2003 to the present time.

Community/Political Activities:

• Member of the Para-legal Advisory Committee of Union County Community College;
• Past President of the Linden Rotary Club;
• Admissions Liaison Officer for the US Air Force Academy from 1994 to 2009. This was an additional duty while I was in the Air Force Reserves. I acted as the local area high school representative for the Academy's admission program; and
• Republican Party candidate for Union County Surrogate in 2009.

Other Accomplishments:

• Private pilot (not current)
• Second Degree Black Belt and instructor in karate (inactive)

A.    What are the three most important issues facing the Office of County Clerk? (Please list your answers.)

I see the following as being key issues:
1.    Complete the task of digitizing vital county records.
2.    Make the computer access of records more user friendly to the public.
3.    Survey the County Clerk's physical plant to guarantee ourselves that records are safely stored and maintained for future generations.

B.    Please explain your answers in question A? (Please keep your answers to 175 words each.)

1.    The current administration has begun the task of digitizing county records, but the task is not yet complete.  This is an on-going effort and I see it as one of the primary functions of the Clerk to continue the process.  This means that I would seek ways to be innovative in the way we maintain our records.  I will bear in mind the fact that technology is always evolving, therefore I believe that it is extremely important that our computerized filing system is open ended enough to keep pace with technological developments.  Also important is the security of the data stored by the county.  I would look for ways to provide the highest degree of security possible without sacrificing usability and ready access to the stored data.  Physical offsite data storage is an absolute must in my opinion in order to be sure that we have provided the maximum protection possible.  I would also explore the feasibility of having web access to the stored data so that it can be instantaneous available if needed in case of an emergency.

2.    When I was a colonel in the Air Force Reserves I was one of the people involved in developing a standardized web based system to account for and track the work participation of Reserve Judge Advocate personnel in the command I worked in.  One of the key elements was to make the system easy to use by people who had varying degrees of computer skills. The system was successful and eventually adopted throughout the Air Force for its Reserve JAG personnel across the country.   I will apply the same principles to the computerized access of Union County records.  For example, I believe the interface can be improved.  In Morris County computer users can access unofficial copies of documents without charge.  They are charged only for official copies.  Not so in Union County. We should look into adopting this system.  Moreover Union County is not part of the state wide web based Unified Electronic Interface for NJ Counties.  Twelve of New Jersey's twenty-one Counties belong to the system.  I believe that we should be part of it or at least evaluate where it is something that we should do. I would like to add additional value to our residents by incorporating an unofficial calculator that would tell you what would be the per page charges for filing different documents and what your realty transfer fee would be when you sold your property. Electronic document filing is another item I want to explore. Federal Courts have adopted a system where parties to lawsuits file documents electronically.  I want to look into this technology to see if it can be utilized by our County's use. I would also like to survey law firms, title companies and interested residents on further improvements we can make.  Finally, I want to review the data entry portion of the Clerk's Office electronic filing system because if the information is not accurately entered it may be difficult or impossible to find.

3.    Although the Clerk's Office has been working on digitizing documents we cannot forget that hard copies of records must be safely preserved. To this end, I want to make sure that our current facilities are up to the task.  Many of the County's documents are stored under County Jail's bathroom and shower facilities and as a result may subject to conditions that may cause damage.  We must be sure that the records are safe and secure for future generations. I will take the necessary steps to protect this valuable asset.

C.    How do you propose to safeguard the integrity of the election process? (Please keep your answer to 200 words.)

This is the bedrock of our political system.  When we are safe and secure in our election process we are assured of a fair, accurate and honest result.  There is no room for politics the election process. I will be a "hands on" manager of the election process in order to maintain the highest possible integrity in the system which will include regular inspections of the election machines. I will work zealously with our election staff to be sure that every aspect of the process is fair and above board.
    
D.    How can the Office of County Clerk generate more revenue for the county government? (Please keep your answer to 300 words.)

We must keep in mind the fact that the Clerk's Office is a ministerial function. This means that revenue is generated by people who must file documents and use the services provided by the Clerk. The recent downturn in the economy has affected revenues in the office from a high in 2004 of 49 million to approximately 23 million in revenues in 2009. The decline is generally attributed to a drop in the sale of real estate in the county. Even with this in mind the business of the county goes on and the way to continue to generate revenue is to continue stream line the payment of fees through the use of credit cards and direct deposits.

E.    Given the County Clerk's job is more administrative and management in nature than policy making, what administrative and management skills do you bring to this position? (Please keep your answer to 300 words.)

I have a wealth of experience that I will bring to the Clerk's Office.  As a business owner for the past 11 years, with my solo law practice I am very aware of staying in budget and watching the bottom line. I have also served in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves for 30 years and I gained a great of leadership and management skills serving my country. In my last 8 years in the Air Force Reserves I was a Colonel. My duties included managing over 50 people through-out the United States. Therefore I believe I can apply my experience to the Clerk's Office.

F.    How do you propose to make the Office of the County Clerk more efficient? (Please keep your answer to 200 words.)

I will continue to computerize the functions of the office as much as possible and digitize records. However, I want to make sure that the computer systems employed will be open to new technologies as they develop in this ever evolving area. I will also look for ways to stream line various administrative processes and cut duplication of effort whatever possible.

G.    How do you propose safeguarding and processing property records transactions in Union County? (Please keep your answer to 300 words.)

Recently the Clerk's Office has engaged in a program of off-site storage of computer records. I believe this is a good start but I want to be sure that any system that we use will be as fool proof and secure as possible. Through my experience in the Air Force I am very aware of the fact that records must be maintained in a safe and secure manner. I will closely monitor this program to be sure that Union County attains a high standard of safety and security.

H.    Is the Office of County Clerk better off than it was five years ago? (Please keep your answer to 250 words.)

The simple answer to this question is no. The downturn in the economy has affected every aspect of county government including the Clerk's Office. I will work to preserve what we have and improve the office wherever and whenever possible. Furthermore much more can be done to improve computer access of Clerk's records to the public as I mentioned earlier.