The Metropolitan King County Council last week unanimously confirmed Sherril Huff as director of the King County's Records, Elections and Licensing Services Division, with praise for her leadership in implementing the council's recommendations for election reforms.

"Under intense public scrutiny, Elections has made tremendous strides, and as assistant director of Records, Elections and Licensing, Sherril has been involved in implementing the programs and the change of culture within Elections that resulted in those improvements," said Council Chairman Larry Gossett. "That experience, as well as her background in running elections will be invaluable as we make the transition to vote-by-mail in King County."

"Sherril has played a key role in helping to strengthen the trust of voters in their election system" said Council Vice Chairwoman Julia Patterson. "King County Elections is at an historic crossroads as they transition to an all vote-by-mail system. To achieve a successful transition, we need steady leadership and someone with strong management skills. I believe Sherril is up to this task."

"Sherril has been involved in running many successful elections since joining Records, Elections and Licensing in 2005," said Councilmember Larry Phillips. "She has a great track record of working well with the Council, the Citizens' Elections Oversight Committee and others to bring successful reforms to King County Elections."

"Sherril is the right fit to continue the improvement with King County's election system," said Councilmember Bob Ferguson. "She brings much-needed stability to that office and I look forward to working with her."

"I'm pleased the council agreed that Ms. Sherril Huff's years of experience as a public servant and excellent work transforming the culture and morale of our elections office make her the ideal manager to continue the reforms and carry the department to all-mail voting next year," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "Under Sherril's leadership, King County Elections has become a nationally recognized leader in mail ballot reconciliation and continues to leads the state in outreach to the disability community to encourage voting opportunities. Her professionalism and leadership has been a tremendous asset to the people of the county."

Huff has been acting director of the division since her appointment by the county executive in April. She had been the assistant director of Records, Elections and Licensing since February 2005, and took the lead in implementing the council's recommendations for improvements to the county's elections system.

Under her leadership, King County Elections received a national award for its mail ballot reconciliation efforts last August. King County was also the first county in Washington to allow election candidates to file for office online using encryption technology from the banking industry. King County has also become the first government in the state to allow voters to confirm their registrations online using the Internet, a practice that has been recognized by the federal government as a best practice in voter information portals.

Before joining Records, Elections and Licensing, Huff was elected Kitsap County auditor in 1979 and served for eight years. She was elected to the Bremerton City Council and served from 1993 to 1997, and was Bremerton's deputy mayor from 2002-2004. While a member of the City Council, Huff was also the executive director of the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

Records, Elections and Licensing is responsible for records and recording, elections and voter registration, marriage licensing, animal control and pet licensing. The division also operates King County's public information line and community service centers.