Brooks says she will provide smooth transition into clerk position

Editor’s note: Tricia Brooks and Cyndi Miller are vying for the position of clerk of the District Court on Nov. 8. One will replace longtime clerk Susan Farmer, who is retiring at the end of the year, in a position that pays $43,000 a year.

Tricia Brooks, 46, is an administrative assistant in the clerk’s office, the No. 2 person under Clerk Susan Farmer and the substitute in her absence.

She touts her 10 years of experience in the court and says that electing her will provide a smooth transition in services for the public and court personnel.

Brooks said she is ideally suited for the job because she has worked with two different district court judges.

“It is going to be extremely important to have an experienced person in the office with the election of a new clerk and new District Court judge happening in the same year,” she said. “I have the experience for a smooth transition for the public and court personnel,” she said, noting that she worked in the clerk of court office when a new District Court judge was elected in 2010 and a new clerk in 2007.

She said the office runs like a well-oiled machine, and she wants to make sure that it continues to do so.

Her strengths come from her hands-on experience in the office and her ability to communicate effectively with people from all walks of life.

Working in the clerk’s office has taught her how to handle difficult situations and how to explain to people the limitations of the office, she said.

Brooks is a fourth-generation Montanan and has been married to Joe Brooks for 28 years. She and her husband have one daughter.

Caleb M. Soptelean can be reached at 293-4124 or by email at csoptelean@thewesternnews.com.