Pickens County voters will be asked to decide Tuesday between two newcomers seeking election to the vacant county coroner position. Following are their profiles and their responses to questions asked by the Daily Journal/Messenger.

Mitchell T. Davis, 48

134 Old Chappell Road, Pickens,

Marital Status/Children: Single with two children: Mendia and Cody Davis

Education: I’m a graduate of Pickens High School.

Occupation: I’ve worked 29 years with my family business, Davis Mulch & Grading.

Public Offices held/years: I was the Pickens County coroner for 12 years, from 1989 – 2001.

Community/Church involvement: I am a Shriner and Mason, where I was past master of Keowee Lodge #79. In the past I had extensive involvement with the Pickens County Rescue Squad.

Affiliations or experience that contributes directly to the office you seek:

I have 12 years of past experience as the Pickens County coroner. I’ve also had extensive medical and investigative training in support of that role.

Any other aspects of your biography that you feel will contribute to your public service: I have worked with the public for 29 years as part of my family owned business. I know how to communicate with people, how to help them.

Kandy Kelley, 48

264 Glenwood Road, Easley Marital status/ Children: Married with 2 Daughters and 3 Grandchildren

Education: Graduated Easley High School, Surgical Technologist-Greenville Tech. Medicolegal Death Investigator-St. Louis University

Occupation: Pickens County Chief Deputy Coroner

Community/Church Involvement: Potters Clay Fellowship

Affiliations or experience that contributes directly to the office you are seeking: working in surgery in local hospitals, local doctors offices.

1) What do you feel makes you the best candidate for this office?

Davis: I’m the only candidate with past coroner experience: I have an unmatched track record of success in this office. Because of my previous experience, I know what needs to be done in order to execute my campaign platform.

Kelley: This is a question I am confident to answer. I have said before that I have been preparing for this my entire life, and I still believe I have. So here are some of the experiences I have which qualify me for Coroner. I am the Chief Deputy Coroner, and have been for the past 7+ years. I completed courses for Medicolegal Death Investigator (determines manner of death) in St. Louis, Missouri prior to becoming Chief Deputy Coroner. I am also a Surgical Technologist who was on the Greenville Technical College Dean’s List and voted Best All Around Student by my peers. I have 10+ years experience as Medical Assistant which enables me to read and understand Medical Records (determines cause of death).

2: What changes, if any, would you foresee in your term in office that would directly impact the public’s interaction with this office?

Kelley: Educating the public concerning the duties and functions of the office would give transparency to the people of our county. If the public knew the potential of the Coroner’s Office, it would know what to expect. I plan to increase public speaking availability, job shadowing, and pursuit of a more easily accessible physical location for the office

Davis: The coroner’s office currently has two paid positions: the coroner position and an additional 29 hour per week position. I would like to hire a part time receptionist to answer questions that anyone may have. The receptionist would be in the office most of the week to file paperwork, take care of daily tasks, etc.

3: If you are a challenger or a newcomer to this office, briefly explain the issues you see and how you plan to address them:

Davis: I’d like to change the face of the coroner’s office once again by striving to work closely with families in their time of need. I want to ensure that when a family has questions they get answered promptly and truthfully. The coroner’s office must work closer with law enforcement and medical workers to make the right decisions. Lastly, I want to do this while cutting excess spending. Families today are burdened enough without excess taxes.

Kelley: I am not the incumbent but have been with the present coroner and performed the same investigative duties as he since his term began 8 years ago. Dr. Mahanes is not running for a third term, but is endorsing me in this race. I plan to continue with the vision we have begun. We computerized the office, and I plan to aim to make it paperless. We also do not have a morgue or location that is easily accessible to the public, and I pledge to continue to pursue one. We are not fully equipped to handle a mass disaster. I plan to be proactive to obtain the needed equipment and training through partnerships with other agencies to acquire grants to do so.

4: How would you make this office more accountable to the public?

Kelley: I believe that educating the public and accountability go hand in hand. Without a clear picture of what to expect from the Coroner’s office, how can the public hold us accountable? There should also be more accountability to the public for the required educational hours of the Coroner. It is currently on the honor system.

Davis: I would like to create a Web site for the County Coroner’s office. There the office would maintain updated coroner information, including budget forecasting and tracking. People deserve to know what is going on in the coroner’s office and what is being done with their money.

5: How would you make this office more accessible to the public?

Davis: First, through being personally accountable and responding to the highest volume of calls personally as possible. Secondly, to hire a part-time receptionist to be in the office and directly accessible to the public throughout the week.

Kelley: We have begun working with County Council to pursue a morgue with an office that is centrally located for our county. Currently we are on the third floor of the County Court House. Our office does not have signs to easily point the public in the right direction and only has access via stairs. I would like to see the office moved to a more convenient location which would also allow the court house a little extra space for some needed expansion.

6: Describe your fiscal philosophy and what taxpayers can expect to get for their money under your leadership:

Kelley: I believe one place to search for additional funding is from grants. I plan to search for available money to get investigative equipment, public education tools, transport materials, mass disaster preparation, and so forth to bring the Coroner’s office standards up to date. I plan to continue to be available to the citizens of Pickens County full time. The function of the Coroner’s office will be available full time even though the office is classified as part time. Taxpayers can also expect us to continue to be proactive. Increasing community awareness saves lives. The platform of Coroner’s office is a very effective springboard to do so. For example, educating our community on prominent causes of infant and child fatalities, in turn can prevent the tragedy for other families. Periodic columns to our local newspapers can also open the communication between the county and us. By having an open door policy taxpayers can be more comfortable thinking about the coroner’s office without thinking only negative thoughts.

Davis: I want to be more fiscally conservative. To begin with, the current coroner’s office has a newer Chevrolet 4-door four wheel drive truck that is fuel inefficient and only used for the coroner to get to and from a scene. It has no other use and is not outfitted to transport bodies. I would like to give it to a county office that can use the truck. The coroner’s office has a van to transport bodies and it is timelier for me to use my personal vehicle to respond to calls instead of driving to the courthouse to retrieve the truck and then driving to the scene. Other parts of the budget need to be prioritized, researched, and adjusted in the future.