2023 Greenwich Election Profile: Jacqueline A. Budkins For Town Clerk

GREENWICH, CT — Election Day on Nov. 7 is fast approaching, and there are a number of key races on the ballot in Greenwich.

Patch reached out to candidates for local office to get more information on their campaigns and the issues that are facing the town.

Name

Jacqueline A. Budkins

What city or town do you live in?

Greenwich

What office are you seeking?

Greenwich Town Clerk

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

Greenwich

Please give us your party affiliation.

Republican

Education.

Jackie is a 3rd-generation Greenwich native, where most of her family still lives, graduate of Greenwich Public Schools & Roger Williams University. Currently serving as Greenwich Town Clerk. An accomplished businesswoman, with 20 years’ experience as a local Realtor. Community volunteer including, Greenwich Rotary, St Roch Church & member of FF County, Connecticut & New England Town Clerk’s Associations. Spends time volunteering for many non-profits throughout the year.

What is your occupation?

Greenwich Town Clerk - 2 years

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

All Greenwich residents: Parents: Carmella & John Budkins, Brother: John Budkins, Brother & Sister in law: David & Eve Budkins. Proud Aunt to Nephews: William,James, Charlie Budkins and Nieces: Ellie & Emma Budkins.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Yes, I am currently the Greenwich Town Clerk

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I have always loved our town and interacting with the community and this is such an important part of being Town Clerk. I have many more innovative and transformative programs I'd like to introduce during my next term. I want to continue to preserve the history of our beautiful town and continue to make the the town clerk's office the best in the state!

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The Town Clerk’s office is the gateway to our town, it's where life starts, works, and ends in a sense. It's where you go when you get married, your child is born, you buy your first home, vote in local elections, and so much more. As your Town Clerk, my priority has been to make those big milestones in your life easily accessible and accommodating to our citizens by leading with empathy.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

In a word; experience. I have been a lifelong Greenwich resident, deeply involved in town government, our community and a successful local real estate agent for over 20 years. I excel at customer relations, and possess the right temperament and skills most suited for such a public facing office as Town Clerk.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

During my next term, I intend to continue collaborating with the Selectmen's office and the Selectmen's Nominations Advisory Committee (SNAC) to finalize incorporating a central online portal to organize and house all Boards and Commissions as well as all Representative Town Meeting member terms & information. I will continue our ongoing project of digitizing all historical land records which are currently available online. All daily land records are uploaded to our online portal as they are filed in our office. To date all town maps dated as far back as the first recorded map are available online to the public, all land records are online from 1927 to current day and we continue to make strides further back in time each year. During my first term in office we added 10 years of historical land recordings to our online search platform going back to 1927. I would also like to continue my work on streamlining the RTM processes.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As the current Town Clerk, I’ve introduced and implemented new innovative processes for the office, advanced the use of technology, introduced a free Real Property Fraud Alert notification system, implemented a more user-friendly online land record search system for the public and established e-Recording as an additional source for real estate industry professionals to file land records and I added a new online platform for the request, process and payment of vital records. I have many more innovative and transformative programs I'd like to introduce during my next term, therefore I humbly ask for your vote on November 7th.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Treat everyone with respect & kindness, be open to listen & learn, working together is success. Stay true to yourself.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The office of the Town Clerk covers an array of services to the public. From day to day we interact with people in all stages of their lives and I've found that leading with empathy is the best way!