Clerk leaves 45-year tenure with county

Dozens of individuals have run for and sometimes fought at Trempealeau County board of supervisor meetings since 1989, but only one person has been witness to most of them.

Paul Syverson has been a fixture in county government since June of 1979, when he started as an accountant for the highway department. In 1988, at the urging of then-county clerk Harold Tomter, Syverson ran for and was first elected as clerk. He then began in 1989 the work of helping organize and record the actions of county supervisors. He will have held that post for 35 years when his successor takes over in January.

Syverson is quick to say he’s not retired but has decided to not seek re-election. Mary Martin, who ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election and served for 19 years as deputy county clerk, will assume the office in 2025.

Tomter “urged me to run and became my campaign manager,” Syverson said in an interview. “We did all the parades, went door to door, published a brochure of my accomplishments.”

Syverson won, with 60 percent of the vote, perhaps because of this piece of political wisdom from Tomter.

“Back in those days, north up Highway 53 was all Republican and up Highway 93 was all Democrat,” Syverson said. “Harold said since I was from Blair and people knew me, I was safe there. So, I ran as a Democrat” for the Highway 93 contingent.

The only other time Syverson had competition was in the 2000 primary, and things got a little heated. His opponent accused Syverson of embezzling money.

“It does seem like we’ve gotten to a place where you win by making your opponent worse,” Syverson said. “I was able to prove the (embezzlement) charge was a lie.” He won the primary with 89 percent of the vote.

His personal experience aside, elections are a major element of the clerk’s job.

“Elections have become more and more complicated,” Syverson said. “The chain of custody (for ballots) has become intense.” 

He’s a student of state law, pointing to two volumes of state statutes that set laws for elections and the role of county government.

He fielded a call the same day as the interview from a resident incensed that someone wore candidate-specific clothes to a polling place. “As long as they don’t start pointing at the shirt and trying to get attention, it has to be allowed. She didn’t like that answer.”

The clerk is also responsible for amassing and monitoring the county’s budget, overseeing bill paying and numerous record-keeping activities. Syverson lists his five favorite tasks as issuing marriage licenses and occasionally witnessing a ceremony, daily interactions with county residents, working with the county board, hosting the recently revived youth in government events and — accounting.

“I don’t know why exactly, but I love accounting.”

Syverson has seen the size and contentiousness of the county board change. The now 16-person board once had as many as 23 members. The 21-member boards, Syverson remembers, had their differences, with a “lot of votes that were 10 to 11 and 11 to 10.”

More recently, county residents stirred the board, Syverson said. Groups objected to a proposed mask mandate during the COVID years and unsuccessfully pushed the board to make the county a sanctuary for Second Amendment gun rights.

Syverson, the father of three daughters, plans on spending time with grandchildren, soon to number seven, and working at a daughter’s funeral business. He has a hobby farm with fowl, a cat and, if he a can get a fence built, maybe a horse.

He’s not ruling out running for board membership or even spending some time back in the clerk’s office.

Partisan county government is the “grass roots of the political system”, he said. “I view government as providing common sense.”