15 minute read
The Honorable Lucy Adame-Clark
Leading the County Clerk’s Office into the Future
By Rachel Lynch
Bexar County elected its first County Clerk in 1836. One hundred and seventy-eight years later, the County elected its first woman and first Latina as County Clerk—Lucy Adame-Clark. Since taking office in 2019, Adame-Clark has focused on moving forward. In her first term, she spearheaded thirtyfive initiatives to modernize the County Clerk’s office. She continues the modernization effort in her second term.
Responsibilities
The County Clerk serves as the County’s record-keeper, treasurer, and license administrator. As record-keeper, the County Clerk maintains the County’s current documents, includng county court civil and criminal records. The County Clerk oversees the County’s three probate courts, fifteen County Courts at Law, a Mental Health Court, and an Auxiliary Jail Court. The County Clerk serves as Ex-Officio Clerk of Commissioners Court, Bexar County Recorder, and Bexar County Records Management Officer, and maintains Bexar County’s Spanish Archives. In addition, the County Clerk maintains public records—like property ownership, doing-business-as (DBA) names, and marriage licenses—and manages the recording of cattle brands.
The County’s public records include historical records. According to Adame-Clark, Bexar County “has a precious history in our records.” She explained that nearly 200 years ago, Bexar County encompassed all of what is now Texas, as well as parts of modern-day Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. As a result, the County’s historical records include “a lot of Canary Islanders history, the Tejano history, Native American history, Black history, German settlement history, and Italian settlement history.” The County’s oldest historical record dates back to 1717, predating Bexar County.
The County’s historical records contain information regarding genealogy, land rights, and events in Texas history. One 1818 document reflects the enslavement of some Latinos. Because she committed to sharing the County’s history, Adame-Clark arranged for the document’s inclusion in an exhibit for National Hispanic Heritage Month. According to District Judge Stephanie Boyd, the County’s historical records have helped “bring light to a lot of the Black history here in San Antonio.” Copies of documents from Bexar County’s Spanish Archives are now displayed at the San Antonio African American Museum.
Digitizing Records
In the past, most county records were on paper. Adame-Clark explained that when she took office in 2019, the County Clerk’s budget included “$6,600 every three months for paper.” Because attorneys, clerks, and judges operated with paper, accessing the County Clerk’s records required physical trips to the courthouse or other storage facilities. Millions of public records were stored in a sub-basement of the county courthouse; another 175 boxes of records were stored in the criminal courts. Records were often difficult to find. Although many court records were digitized when Adame-Clark took office, not all public records were. So, she set out to digitize County records to increase accessibility and protect documents from destruction during a disaster. Adame-Clark and her staff worked to digitize every document in the Clerk’s care. County Judge Peter Sakai, who has known AdameClark for years, “marveled at how she has transformed the County Clerk’s office.” Judge Sakai characterized Adame-Clark as “prolific in her approach to expanding services and getting out in the community to meet people where they are.”
Early Years
Adame-Clark’s ability to meet people where they are and her passion for increased accessibility flow from her childhood. She was born in the Alazán-Apache Courts—San Antonio’s oldest public housing project— and grew up in nearby Cassiano Courts (or Cassiano Homes)—another public housing complex—with her four sisters, one of whom was born with an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). Adame-Clark recalls how she and her family waited in lines “for shoes and for food,” and how much she appreciated those resources.
Adame-Clark’s father (a former Marine) and her mother (a community organizer) made sure she and her sisters knew that coming from an underserved community did not mean they could not go on to great things. “Past the walls of this poor community, there are so many opportunities,” Adame-Clark’s mother told her. Her parents encouraged her to dream big and taught her to advocate for, and give back to, the community. Adame-Clark remembers her mother blockwalking and petitioning local government for improvements like sidewalks, better pay for teachers, and better access to education.
Serving the Community
Adame-Clark sees her position as County Clerk as an opportunity to help underserved communities. Her “Records on the Run” initiative takes County Clerk services to underserved communities using a mobile satellite office. The initiative originated from an early town hall meeting with veterans. At the meeting, a veteran asked, “How are we supposed to get to you?” Although non-judicial documents were free online, many veterans needed in-person services from the County Clerk’s office. Inperson services required trips downtown, money for parking, and metal detectors which might trigger PTSD. Adame-Clark began to consider other groups needing access to County Clerk services: senior citizens, people with little or no internet access, people without printers, people without transportation or $20 for parking. As an idea began to take shape, Adame-Clark responded, “We’re going to mobilize.”
Adame-Clark recalled with a laugh, “My staff looked at me like I was crazy!” But her deputy chief, Priscilla Hernandez, headed to her office and began planning. “She came back thirty minutes later, opened my door, and said, ‘Boss, we can do it.’”
Within seven months, Adame-Clark and her staff opened four “Office in the Box” pop-up stations and set them up at senior centers and veterans’ locations in different precincts. The “Office in the Box” stations were an instant success, “doing everything the courthouse can do, out in the community.” People visited the pop-up stations to deposit wills, record military discharge forms, and obtain marriage licenses. The project cost only $26,000.
The second part of Adame-Clark’s plan required a truck “for business continuity, for more access to the public, and for disaster recovery.” Five months after “Office in the Box” launched, the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the need for a truck soared. Small businesses needed DBAs to qualify for certain loans. People needed marriage licenses to access medical and life insurance policies. Others needed to deposit wills. Homes were sold, loans refinanced, guardianships created, and all that information needed recording. The County Clerk’s office purchased a truck and set up a traveling office.
Unlike the pop-up stations, which needed electrical outlets, the truck could function as an outdoor County Clerk’s office. “We popped up on the east side, the west side, the south side, across the street [from the County Courthouse], and we had two to four hour waits,” said AdameClark. She and her staff worked tirelessly to serve the community. At times, they loaded the truck with personal protective equipment and distributed it throughout the community. Adame-Clark, who is an ordained Christian minister, even performed marriages during COVID. She charged no fee; instead, she asked couples to donate to the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter or the Family Justice Center.
Post-COVID, the County Clerk’s mobile office evolved into the “Records on the Run” van, which provides the community in-person services at no additional cost. Services include obtaining marriage and DBA licenses, recording property ownership, and accessing information from the Spanish Archives. Judge Boyd admires how “Records on the Run” removes barriers to accessing public services.
Background for Serving as County Clerk
Adame-Clark’s efforts as County Clerk have roots in her work for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. Adame-Clark began working at the Sheriff’s Office in 1997 as Clerk I, after completing training in Paralegal Studies at Southern Careers Institute. Six months later, she was promoted to Clerk II and began handling identity theft, error resolution, and fingerprint corrections. Adame-Clark took to the work immediately and “wanted to learn so much more.” She attended training throughout Texas, obtaining extensive knowledge of criminal justice information systems.
Over time, Adame-Clark worked in Criminal Warrants, processing felony and misdemeanor warrants, and in Central Records, handling Bexar County’s incarceration records. Through this work, Adame-Clark learned about the roles of the County and District Clerks and the importance of record-keeping. While in Central Records, Adame-Clark was part of a team that transitioned paper fingerprints to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System—a system that can share information with other agencies quickly, without the risk of losing physical fingerprint cards.
In Criminal Investigations, Adame-Clark handled a case involving the sexual assault of a two-year-old girl. The case proceeded through the system slowly. According to Adame-Clark, by the time the case went to trial, the girl had “to be told what happened to her.” The delay of justice made a big impression on Adame-Clark: “I wanted to get a position where [I could] automate systems that were responsible. To make sure we digitized those records . . . tied into every court system, every process, everything the attorney needed, prosecutor needed, the district attorney needed, the clerks needed. I wanted to be part of that improvement.” She promised, “I will make sure justice is never delayed for anybody.” Adame-Clark left the Sheriff’s Office on December 31, 2018 (after winning the November election) and was sworn into the County Clerk’s office on January 1, 2019.
Automation
Once elected as County Clerk, AdameClark asked Commissioners Court for the same automation system as the District Clerk and District Attorney. By that time, the Dallas and Tarrant County Clerks had automated systems. Acting with those counties’ guidance, Bexar County began transitioning from a forty-year-old Mocha system to Tyler Odyssey—an automation system that connects data, applications, and offices to make business processes more efficient. In 2021, civil records began transitioning; in 2024, criminal records began transitioning. The transition to Odyssey digitized files and automated processes for registered and authorized users like employees of the County Clerk’s office, Texas-licensed attorneys, and justice partners such as the Attorney General and Medical Examiner. After facing some technical issues and delays with the transition, Odyssey is now “fully functional” and capable of helping the County Clerk’s office upload and scan images, obtain judges’ signatures, access court information 24/7, and streamline proceedings in the county court system.
Although Commissioners Court approved the transition to Odyssey, universal use by county judges proved difficult. “Some of the judges were very resistant,” Adame-Clark admits. “It’s [still] not a full process across all the courts.” She says she may eventually begin more strictly enforcing Odyssey’s use but hopes all judges will transition to the new operating system without having to be pushed. Once the effort is complete, AdameClark plans to file with the Texas Law Library to make the County’s digital record the official public record, rather than the manual files.
Respecting the Past
Despite her desire to update office processes, Adame-Clark respects past County Clerks, especially immediate predecessor Gerry Rickhoff. Adame-Clark retained much of Rickhoff’s staff, wanting a team of “people who have institutional knowledge, but still have passion and dedication and want to improve this office.” She promoted several mid-level employees to higher positions, knowing that the guidance of Rickhoff’s “subject matter experts” would help achieve her goals as County Clerk.
Rickhoff himself was “instrumental” in Adame-Clark’s transition. “I’m not here to destroy his history or his credibility,” Adame-Clark said of Rickhoff. “I’m here to improve the criminal justice information system.” Before Adame-Clark took office, the two met several times to talk about the transition, and they “exchanged keys very peacefully, respectfully, with dignity.”
Since her childhood in the housing projects, Adame-Clark has served her community. Judge Boyd characterizes Adame-Clark as having been raised to “always be active in bettering a community,” adding that—from a very young age—Adame-Clark would actively write to the legislature, campaign with City Council members, and blockwalk with her mom and dad.
Adame-Clark’s respect for the past is evident as soon as you step into her office. In the entry vestibule/waiting area of the County Clerk’s office, Adame-Clark dedicated a wall for framed photos of past Bexar County Clerks. There are ten photos, arranged in three rows of County Clerks from 1921 to present. Nine photos are black and white; these are all former County Clerks, and all, notably, white men. In the center of the top row of photos, in full color, is Adame-Clark. A final frame reflects the signatures of the ten County Clerks who served from 1837 to 1920 (photos not yet located). The display highlights both AdameClark’s desire to honor the past and her proud awareness that she is different from prior County Clerks. Adame-Clark represents a different demographic (and generation) than the past officeholders, and her work to modernize the Clerk’s office reflects this.
The display of the past continues into Adame-Clark’s personal office. Adame-Clark’s office is a magnificent, eclectic, overwhelmingbut-organized collection of things that show who she is. Every surface–walls, shelves, tables–is decorated. Adame-Clark’s degrees are displayed alongside historical photos of the County Courthouse, paintings, and a flag of the former Mexican State of Coahuila and Texas. There are shelves of law books, Texas history books, political books, interspersed with small figurines, pottery, crosses, and framed family photos. There are multiple Texas and American flags. There is a red leather couch, under which lay several pairs of high heels. Hanging on a coat rack near the door are a white hard hat and a multicolored Fiesta flower crown. There are several knights: two large knights guard either side of a table near the door, while a smaller one resides on top of a bookshelf (next to a certificate of ordination). Adame-Clark tells me that the knights are protectors and remind her to be strong and stay grounded. The top of a large cabinet behind AdameClark’s desk is lined with Native American dolls and figurines. AdameClark has Native American, Black, and Latina lineage, and there are representations of each of these aspects of her personal history around her office, along with mementos from her work history, including a framed certificate of appreciation for twenty-five years of service to Bexar County.
A Lifetime of Service
The certificate should read “a lifetime of service.” Since her childhood in the housing projects, Adame-Clark has served her community. Judge Boyd characterizes Adame-Clark as having been raised to “always be active in bettering a community,” adding that—from a very young age—Adame-Clark would actively write to the legislature, campaign with City Council members, and blockwalk with her mom and dad. Apart from her work at the clerk’s office, Adame-Clark works for her community by donating time and money. She works to help senior citizens, advocates for children’s literacy, and does all she can to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods. She was instrumental in establishing a permanent food pantry for the South Side School District.
She supports organizations like Women Unlimited San Antonio, which educates, empowers, and guides women business owners; Zapatos, which provides shoes for needy children; and Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, which supports families and children, especially those with disabilities.
Eagles Flight and Zapatos are particularly close to her heart. Growing up in the 70s and 80s was difficult for Adame-Clark’s sister with an IDD. Lack of information on intellectual and developmental disabilities meant few resources, so Adame-Clark works with Eagle’s Flight to ensure that people with IDDs today do not struggle in the same way her sister did. Organizations like Zapatos provided shoes to Adame-Clark as a child. The first time she volunteered with Zapatos, she sat down, helped children pick out and put on new shoes, and experienced a full circle moment: “It was me, remembering when they used to come do the same thing for me.” She had made her way to the opportunities her parents had always assured her were waiting, and she had returned to underserved communities to provide those opportunities to others.
Like her years of community organizing, the work Adame-Clark has done at the County Clerk’s office is about serving the people of San Antonio. “I don’t need credit,” she stated. She is happy to empower her community from behind the scenes. Although she has not sought recognition or accolades, her work has caught people’s attention. Adame-Clark and the County Clerk’s office have received numerous awards since 2020. Most recently, Adame-Clark received the National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s Legendary Advocate Award and the San Antonio Young Lawyers Association’s Liberty Bell Award. Both awards celebrate community engagement.
Lucy Adame-Clark is an advocate, a trailblazer, and an innovator. She is a tireless worker and a stellar example to young women who want to make a difference. She is a record-keeper and warrior for justice. Above all, she is a member of the Bexar County community, and she is doing everything she can to make the system that serves that community work better for everyone.
