History of the City Secretary

History of the City Secretary

The position of a city secretary or municipal clerk is the oldest public servant role in recorded history. The earliest clerks appeared around 5,000 B.C. with the invention of writing. Biblical reference to the town clerk is found in the Book of Acts chapter 19:35. There is history dating back to ancient Greece that is sometimes titled "city clerk." Early clerk scribes literally used the quill writing instrument. The clerk's office is always one of the first offices created when government is established, and the office is charged with keeping the official records of the government. This government position literally follows the history of writing itself, advancing from verbal, handwritten, typed, and printed, to computerized, digitized and Internet-based documentation and communication technology.

The Office of the City Secretary of today uses modern technology to provide services to citizens, city council, staff, and other government agencies. Ordinances, minutes, and agendas are available electronically, and documents are maintained in accordance with the records management system mandated by the State of Texas. Election laws are both federal and state based, and this office must keep abreast of the latest legal requirements to ensure that all required standards are met. The challenges of official record keeping today, although increased in volume as compared to the past, is maintained by a trained, competent office to ensure that the official records of the City are kept through time for current and future knowledge and historical documentation.

The City Secretary's Office continues to preserve the tradition, ethics, integrity and standards developed by the pioneers of the position in the City of Alpine. The following is a listing of those who have served the City of Alpine as City Secretary.

HISTORY OF THE CITY SECRETARY

No. 17   Mr. Geoffrey R. Calderon    July 2021 to PRESENT.
    Mr. Geoffrey R. Calderon, Acting City Secretary   May 2021 – July 2021
No. 16   Ms. Cynthia Salas   August 2017 – May 2021
No. 15   Ms. Kalea Cotton   March 2017 – July 2017
No. 14   Mrs. Margaret “Molly” Taylor   November 2005 –  December 2016
No. 13   Mrs. Annabel Holguin   December 1984 – August 2005
No. 12   Mrs. Shirley A. Scholl   March 1978 – December 1984
No. 11   Ms. Janet Sanders   April 1976 - March 1978
No. 10   Mrs. Marjorie Graham   April 1962 – April 1976
    Mrs. Marjorie Graham, Acting City Secretary   November 1961 – April 1962
No. 9   Mr. Lee Cowell   August 1958 – November 1961
    Mrs. Loma Skevington, Acting City Secretary    June 1958 – August 1958
No. 8   Mr. John Stovell   June 1947 – July 1958 (Died in office)
No. 7   Judge R.B. “Bob” Slight   January 5, 1947 – June 1947
No. 6   Mr. T.F. Skevington   May 1942 – December 1946 (Died in office)
No. 5   Mr. L. Nelson Lee   August 1941 - May 1942
    Mr. T.B. Davis, Acting City Secretary   7/15/1941 July 1941 – August 1941
No. 4   Mr. M.H. Moorman   September 1929-1941 (Died in offce)
No. 3   The Honorable E.E. Townsend   2/5/1929 - September 1929
No. 2   Mr. W.A. Daugherty   2/5/1923 – 2/5/1929
    Mr. G.W. Bechtol, Acting City Secretary   1921
No. 1   Ms. Flora L. Daugherty   1918- February 1923