With a few weeks before the official kickoff to the 2026 campaign in Shelby County, there are four candidates vying to succeed term-limited Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. However, unlike the other contenders, Ed Holt hopes his status as the “insider” candidate gives him the inside track on the job.
“I worked as one of the accountants in the County Clerk’s office. My experience there is pretty much what motivated and inspired me to run for this office,” said Holt.
The 51-year-old Appling Middle School English teacher’s tenure at the office began in 2023. Seeking a break from his teaching career, the Navy veteran took a flier on an open spot at the clerk’s office. For a year, he learned on the job as the office descended from one controversy to the other.
The primary functions of the Shelby County Clerk’s Office are to issue license plates and vehicle tags, along with applications for businesses, marriage or commissions to become a notary public.
The problems around the office started with a bottleneck of vehicle tags and license plates that occurred during the pandemic. Thousands of motorists were stuck in neutral as Halbert offered one excuse or the other for the backlog. The miscues continued when Halbert submitted faulty financial reports to the county trustee in 2024. The latter resulted in an audit ordered by State Comptroller Jason Mumpower.
Holt was there for the cleanup. By that time, he was the office’s interim top bean counter. What he found was inaccurate or outdated financial reporting, Holt said. Moreover, Holt alleges the office’s general ledger hadn’t been balanced for the previous two fiscal years. The morass eventually led to a failed attempt to remove Halbert from office by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp.
“One of the things I did while I had to fill in as the lead accountant, I balanced Clerk Halbert’s ledger for the entire fiscal year. In fact, I got congratulated on it,” said Holt.
While some might choose to run away from the association, the political neophyte hangs his accountant’s eyeshade — and the hopes of his candidacy — on the results of his work under Halbert.
“I’m already familiar with the job, with the operations, with the revenues. How the money is made and how it’s paid. While the other candidates have to come in and learn the job, I’m already equipped with the knowledge and skills to do the job,” said Holt.
Still, the Memphis State grad pointed out that some of the problems with the office go beyond Halbert’s ability to fix. For example, antiquated computers are commonplace. Many run equally antiquated operating systems. One computer he used ran Windows 7, which was introduced in 2009.
Some technology is so old, it has prevented the clerk’s office staff from troubleshooting with tech support. In addition to slowing down productivity, the lack of upgrades also presents a security risk.
“We’re running with this 15- to 20-year-old technology that’s always a security risk to Shelby County government in general. We pop up every month as a security risk because the rest of the Shelby County government is on Microsoft 365,” said Holt.
Employee compensation was another systemic issue. At the time, starting pay for cashiers working a 37.5 hour week was around $29,000. The lack of competitive pay resulted in short term hires. The high rate of turnover left many tasks in inexperienced hands.
“You have these long lines that come through. Customers are upset because there are long lines. It’s almost like a powder keg. I’ve seen first hand where a customer is irate and they take it out on one of the workers. The worker is already frustrated for their own reasons. The next thing you know, it becomes a scene,” said Holt.
Although the county addressed employee pay to a degree by setting the base salary at $40,000 this year, Holt says there are improvements to the clerk’s office that can be made internally. In addition to an overall upgrade in technology, this includes the expansion of kiosks for vehicle tag renewals.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade the office could use, Holt said, is improved relations with elected counterparts in Shelby County’s government.
“Everybody’s got a role that impacts someone else,” said Holt. “I think it would behoove elected officials to try to work with other elected officials for the betterment of the county. You’ve got to take yourself out of the equation and remember you are doing a job on behalf of your constituents.”
Along with Holt, the race to replace Halbert has attracted three other aspirants from the Democratic Party. They include Shelby County deputy chief administrative officer LaSonya Hall, first-term Shelby County commissioner Britney Thornton, and Breath of Life Christian Center events coordinator Myra Charles.
The campaigns can officially begin on Dec. 22.
