Passports, birth certificates, tax levies, marriage licenses and voter registration lists. For the Kankakee County clerk, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Dozens of other documents are housed in the office, and several thousand residents visit it annually searching for this one or that.

And looking to unseat long-standing Republican incumbent Bruce Clark next Tuesday, Democrats are hoping Dondi Maricle will be the next clerk in charge.

"I can bring fresh ideas to the office and give better customer service," Maricle said in an e-mail responding to questions from The Daily Journal. Maricle was invited to speak with a reporter in person but said an "unexpected" event prohibited a meeting.

"I will ensure each citizen the opportunity to exercise their right to vote and make early voting more accessible to everyone," said Maricle, a Realtor who moved to Bourbonnais 23 years ago from Peoria. "My promise to the citizens of Kankakee County is to work hard to serve you better and to ensure that your vote counts. Let's take politics out of the office and be fair and equally accommodating to everyone."

For 56-year-old Clark, that's just what he's devoted the last 24 years of his life in office to.

"I love elections," said the Bourbonnais native who grew up in Kentucky. "Those votes are counted and however we vote, change is made."

Talking about his candidacy, the generally reserved Clark discussed elections and the vast collection of marriage and death logs dating back to the mid-1800s.

"I take great pride in these records," he said, "and I want to preserve them."

Overseeing elections in Bosnia, the Dominican Republican and, most recently, Afghanistan, has only reinforced the importance of voting back home, Clark said, and it's a lesson that makes its way down to the family's kitchen table.

"I don't tell them how to vote," Clark said of his three children. But he offers this advice: "Learn about the issues. Find out what they're about."

And don't forget to vote.

Dondi Maricle

Democrat from Bourbonnais

Age: 48

Experience: Realtor, former president of Bourbonnais Library District Board.

Family: Husband, Allen; four adult children.

Quote: "All residents deserve the same courteous treatment each time they use any government agency."

Bruce Clark

Republican incumbent from Bourbonnais

Age: 56

Experience: Appointed Kankakee County Clerk in 1985; first elected in 1986.

Family: Wife, Amy; three adult children.

Quote: On the office of county clerk: "You're meeting the needs of the public. You're not just a bureaucracy."