EPHRATA - Kimberly Allen said she wants to continue to focus on customer service as she seeks re-election for Grant County clerk.

"I am a working clerk. I am also committed to serving Grant County in a professional and courteous manner. Quality customer service is a priority," she stated in a release.

Allen, who began working with Grant County courts nearly 30 years ago while attending Ephrata High School, is continuing work on unfinished projects.

"I'm still working on cleaning up and organizing matters that were neglected by former clerks for many years and I enjoy that work," she stated.

Allen said that work includes getting exhibits that were evidence in court cases back to their rightful owner.

"When I started here we had exhibits from the early 1900s, (that had not been returned to owners)," she explained.

Allen said returning evidence back to owners often "gets put on the back-burner" and she wants to continue to focus on getting the property back to whom they belong.

Allen was elected county clerk in 2006, and ran unopposed in her re-election bid in 2010.

Before serving as clerk, she worked as a Grant County deputy clerk and courtroom administrator from 1988-1995. She was the office manager at Schultheis Tabler Wallace law firm from 1995-2006 while also working as a legal assistant to attorney Michael Tabler, according to her release.

"I enjoy the daily challenges of being clerk and still have the drive to work hard and make positive changes in the clerk's office for Grant County, the public and for the staff. It is an honor serving as clerk," she stated.

Allen serves as treasurer for the Grant County Republican Women, is a member of the Washington State Association of County Clerks and the National Association of Court Managements.

After graduating from Ephrata High School in 1986, she attended Big Bend Community College. She is married to Craig Allen, owner of Hometown Appliance in Ephrata and they have one adult son.