The Lancaster County Board has narrowed a field of nine applicants to replace Troy Hawk as district court clerk to three.
Those three finalists are Kris Beckenbach, who ran for Lancaster County Clerk in 2022; Lin Quenzer, the city ombudsman who ran against Hawk for clerk of the district court the same year; and Simon Rezac, a longtime clerk of the district court employee.
Lin Quenzer, 2022 candidate for Lancaster County Clerk of the District Court.Â
COURTESY PHOTO
Hawk announced in December that he was leaving the position he’s held since 2013. Just a year earlier, he was elected to his third term, beating Quenzer.
Hawk left Jan. 15 to become legal counsel for the Nebraska Department of Education. His salary will be $105,990, less than the $117,980 district court clerk salary in 2024.
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Hawk worked for Lancaster County for 14 years, 10 as clerk and four as court administrator.
Kris Beckenbach, 2022 candidate for Lancaster County clerk
COURTESY PHOTO
The board has 45 days to appoint a replacement, who will serve in the position at least through Jan. 7, 2027, following the 2026 election.
Sean Flowerday, Lancaster County Board chairman, said he asked each of the commissioners to give him up to their top four choices, and the three finalists were the clear favorites.
Other applicants were Andrew Ojeda, a workforce development coordinator; Daniel Goetz, a business process analyst; Darik Von Loh, an attorney; Elloise Hansen, a clerk with the state appeals court; Kristen Anderson, chief deputy county treasurer; and Samantha Lowery, deputy director of enforcement for the Nebraska Real Estate Commission.
Simon Rezac
Journal Star file photo
The finalists will be interviewed by the County Board on Feb. 15. Those finalists are:Â
*Beckenbach, who is a legal assistant for Baylor, Evnen, Wolfe & Tannehill. She spent a year as a transaction coordinator for Rocket Homebuyers and was director of Guardian Angels Homecare for five years before that. She lost the last election for clerk to former state Sen. Matt Hansen.
*Quenzer, who has been the ombudsman in the mayor’s office since 2000 and also acts as a federal compliance official, investigating and advising departments that have contact with the public on discrimination complaints. She is liaison for the city on LGBTQ issues and is a lay pastor at Sacred Winds Native Mission UMC. She has also served as music director at the Lincoln Indian Community Church and was a VISTA volunteer, job training coordinator, legal secretary and professional musician.
*Rezac , who has worked in the district court clerk’s office for 29 years. He began as an account clerk in 1994 and in 2003 was promoted to administrative service officer. In that role he prepares and monitors the budget and daily deposits, oversees personnel and payroll information, submits reports to county, state and federal offices and reviews and enters judgments into the computer system. Before joining the clerk's office, he spent 22 years in the Air Force, where he had financial and supervisory responsibilities.
The clerk of the district court oversees three budgets totaling just more than $2.7 million and performs four major functions for the county: serving as district court clerk, clerk for the separate juvenile court, the jury commissioner and the record keeper for the Lancaster County Mental Health Board.
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Contact the writer at mreist@journalstar.com or 402-473-7226. On Twitter at @LJSReist.
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