Passed-over deputy clerk-recorder leaving SLO County to work with Tommy Gong again
San Luis Obispo County’s deputy clerk-recorder is leaving for a new position in Contra Costa County — reuniting with her old boss a few months after supervisors picked another candidate to fill the office’s top job.
Helen Nolan celebrated her last day on Friday after a year and a half of service in the county office that’s responsible for elections processing and maintaining public records.
Nolan will join former SLO County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong, who resigned in July to accept a new position in Contra Costa County.
“I’m leaving because the opportunity presented itself, and I feel like this is kind of a natural progression in my career,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity, and I’m excited to take it.”
Nolan caught in the middle of controversial clerk-recorder selection process
Nolan served as interim clerk-recorder immediately after Gong’s resignation. Gong moved on to a new position following false allegations of voter fraud and racist attacks after the November 2020 election.
The search for Gong’s replacement was a lengthy process and fraught with controversy. The county Board of Supervisors decided against appointing Nolan to the interim position, instead opting for an open application process.
Some board members took issue with the selection committee they appointed after the group returned three finalists — the only ones with elections experience — even though they had asked for seven. This caused a local outcry, as some residents feared the board would appoint an unqualified candidate.
Ultimately, Nolan and Elaina Cano, Santa Barbara County elections division manager, were the only two supervisors interviewed.
Cano is a longtime San Luis Obispo County resident who’d previously worked in the Clerk-Recorder’s Office here, and the board voted 4-1 in October to appoint her as the new clerk-recorder.
At the time, Supervisor Bruce Gibson cited his desire to see both women working in the Clerk-Recorder’s Office as the reason he favored selecting Cano.
“There would be perhaps less of a transition with Ms. Nolan, but if we go with Ms. Cano, we end up with two extraordinary people working in our clerk’s office,” Gibson said. “And I’ll have to say that on that basis by the narrowest of margins, I would support Ms. Cano.”
Nolan leaving behind ‘dedicated public employees’ in SLO County
Despite the national discourse and conspiracies around election fraud, Nolan said the SLO County office serves the public with the utmost integrity.
“We’re here to follow the law and with the best of our abilities, with the most honesty, integrity (and) transparency as possible, and provide the best service we can to the public,” she said. “I’m leaving behind some of the best, most talented, most dedicated public employees that I’ve ever worked with.”
Nolan previously served as assistant clerk-recorder-registrar of voters for Mono County for nearly 14 years.
Before that, Nolan was deputy recorder/administrative assistant in the San Bernardino County Auditor Controller Recorder’s Office for nearly five years.
Nolan said that running the Newsom recall election without a permanent clerk-recorder in place was “stressful” for the office, but she was pleased with how well it was managed.
“It added stress to it,” she said. “It added a level of anxiety, but that is kind of par for the course in this line of work. Anything that comes along can add stress, and you just have to be able to roll with it.”
Nolan ready for new challenges
Nolan said being passed up for the appointment had nothing to do with her departure.
Despite public controversies around election integrity and anti-Asian bias expressed toward Gong, the morale of the county Clerk-Recorder’s Office remains strong, Nolan said. Her departure is a career decision, she said.
“I’m miss SLO County, and I’ll miss this office like crazy,” Nolan said. “I know that the office is being left in good hands with the appointment of Elaina Cano. She is absolutely a dynamic leader who’s going to be able to lead the office, and I have every confidence that they’re going to be fine.”
Nolan will be overseeing significantly more voters in her new role, which she will start on Dec. 13. San Luis Obispo County has 185,000 registered voters, while there are about 700,000 registered voters in Contra Costa County. She’s also pleased to be able to work alongside her old boss again.
“I‘m excited to work with (Gong) again,” said Nolan. “I think he was a great mentor with honesty and integrity.”
Nolan said said her new role is “going to be on a bigger scale, with the same type of duties but more responsibility and maybe different challenges.”
“But that’s part of the excitement — to see what kind of challenges I can face,” Nolan said.
This story was originally published December 4, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
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