Northumberland County Register and Recorder Mary L. Zimmerman has announced she will seek her fourth term in the 2013 primary election.
Zimmerman, a Republican, started working in the office as an inheritance tax clerk in 1983 for the late Frederick "Fritz" Reed. Zimmerman has served as register of wills, recorder of deeds and clerk of orphans court since 2000 when Reed retired.
Since assuming that role, Zimmerman has computerized all three offices, scanning thousands of documents and indexing them electronically.
"I started computerization to save as many of the older documents as possible. Paper documents - most originals, are currently stored in the basement of the courthouse. Any damage to the basement of the building will destroy a lot of the history of Northumberland County," she said. "I would like to continue to scan and index as many documents into the computer as possible."
Zimmerman said that many of the remaining documents that need to be scanned will have to be done professionally rather than by her staff because those papers are handwritten. Current budgetary restraints will not allow for that project to continue at this time.
"As in the past, I am making only one promise to you. That is to continue to be a full-time public servant, and to do the job to the best of my ability as my predecessor Fritz Reed, by example, instilled in me," Zimmerman said.