As a child, Maryanne Morse picked cherries and apples on her dad’s farm in Janesville, Wisc.

Since 1989, Morse has been Seminole County’s Clerk of the Circuit Court. That’s as far away from Wisconsin’s cherries and apples as one can get.

Actually, Morse holds three jobs in one. She is:

• Chief Financial Officer for the county.
• Recorder for the county.
• Record Keeper for the court system.

On Monday, I asked Maryanne Morse about her plans for 2000. Of course, she was going to run a fourth time. There was no rush, she said. Yes, she heard the rumors Longwood Mayor Paul Lovestrand might run against her.

"First, there were rumors he (Lovestrand) would run against the tax collector Ray Valdez," Morse said, naughtily. "Then, he’s going to run against me. When he grows up, maybe he’ll make up his mind."

Furthermore, Morse said, "Paul Lovestrand has no clue until he sits in this desk."

The desk Morse refers to is in a corner office on the fourth floor of the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford. Some say activity at the courthouse would come to a screeching halt if Morse were not there.

"She’s larger than life," said Deputy Clerk Bob Lewis. "Call her colorful, fiery, bold. Her IQ is a t the genius level."

Lewis worked with Morse for eight years in the county’s Chamber of Commerce, eight more at the courthouse.

"You could bargain in an old Mid East bazaar better than you can with Maryanne," he said.

Commissioner Dick Van Der Weide found out how tough Morse was a year ago when he came back from a trip abroad without his meal receipts. Morse docked pay from two of the commissioner’s paychecks. A court case continues.

Morse has strong opinions about the commission’s recent decision to build a criminal justice center at Five Points.

Basically, she said, the courthouse is going to take too long to be built, cost too much and cause confusion to jurors, judges and legal staff.

"It’ll be two years before the design phase, another of delay and at least two years to build the center," Morse said. "We need something right away. With the center not near the courthouse, we’ll need staff increases. Legal staff and sheriff’s deputies for security."

Also troubling to Morse is that there would be much confusion for jurors and judges as they scrambled to be at the right location – downtown at the old courthouse or the new criminal justice center at Five Points.

For awhile Morse scoffed that the County Commission was not capable of making a decision to fix courthouse overcrowding. "I’d pass out if they did," she said one day. Then, they made what she considered an uneducated choice.

Before being elected as a constitutional officer of the county, Morse earned a bachelors degree in economics from Rollins College and a masters in finance and marketing.

She managed an Orlando law firm for 14 years. She understands the language of law and the function of a courthouse.

"What most people fail to understand is that a courthouse is not an easy thing to run," Morse said. "We’re not Disney. What goes on at a courthouse isn’t fun. No one really wants to come here. They’re here for a divorce or because the law wants them put away. They’re here as witnesses or as kids in trouble. A few do come to get a marriage license or adopt a child.

"Our job is to get them through here as rapidly as we can," she added. "We need to be efficient. We need to know exactly what we’re doing. That’s one part of it. The other part is we try to do all this with a smile."

Morse said she was with 100 or more clerks of the court and heard one clerk brag that her court staff had reduced the waiting time for traffic court offenders from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. "My heart started to beat," Morse said. "Our waiting time was 4 ½ minutes. I felt better in a hurry."

As a child, Maryanne Morse picked cherries and apples on her dad’s farm in Janesville, Wisc.

Since 1989, Morse has been Seminole County’s Clerk of the Circuit Court. That’s as far away from Wisconsin’s cherries and apples as one can get.

Actually, Morse holds three jobs in one. She is:

• Chief Financial Officer for the county.
• Recorder for the county.
• Record Keeper for the court system.

On Monday, I asked Maryanne Morse about her plans for 2000. Of course, she was going to run a fourth time. There was no rush, she said. Yes, she heard the rumors Longwood Mayor Paul Lovestrand might run against her.

"First, there were rumors he (Lovestrand) would run against the tax collector Ray Valdez," Morse said, naughtily. "Then, he’s going to run against me. When he grows up, maybe he’ll make up his mind."

Furthermore, Morse said, "Paul Lovestrand has no clue until he sits in this desk."

The desk Morse refers to is in a corner office on the fourth floor of the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford. Some say activity at the courthouse would come to a screeching halt if Morse were not there.

"She’s larger than life," said Deputy Clerk Bob Lewis. "Call her colorful, fiery, bold. Her IQ is a t the genius level."

Lewis worked with Morse for eight years in the county’s Chamber of Commerce, eight more at the courthouse.

"You could bargain in an old Mid East bazaar better than you can with Maryanne," he said.

Commissioner Dick Van Der Weide found out how tough Morse was a year ago when he came back from a trip abroad without his meal receipts. Morse docked pay from two of the commissioner’s paychecks. A court case continues.

Morse has strong opinions about the commission’s recent decision to build a criminal justice center at Five Points.

Basically, she said, the courthouse is going to take too long to be built, cost too much and cause confusion to jurors, judges and legal staff.

"It’ll be two years before the design phase, another of delay and at least two years to build the center," Morse said. "We need something right away. With the center not near the courthouse, we’ll need staff increases. Legal staff and sheriff’s deputies for security."

Also troubling to Morse is that there would be much confusion for jurors and judges as they scrambled to be at the right location – downtown at the old courthouse or the new criminal justice center at Five Points.

For awhile Morse scoffed that the County Commission was not capable of making a decision to fix courthouse overcrowding. "I’d pass out if they did," she said one day. Then, they made what she considered an uneducated choice.

Before being elected as a constitutional officer of the county, Morse earned a bachelors degree in economics from Rollins College and a masters in finance and marketing.

She managed an Orlando law firm for 14 years. She understands the language of law and the function of a courthouse.

"What most people fail to understand is that a courthouse is not an easy thing to run," Morse said. "We’re not Disney. What goes on at a courthouse isn’t fun. No one really wants to come here. They’re here for a divorce or because the law wants them put away. They’re here as witnesses or as kids in trouble. A few do come to get a marriage license or adopt a child.

"Our job is to get them through here as rapidly as we can," she added. "We need to be efficient. We need to know exactly what we’re doing. That’s one part of it. The other part is we try to do all this with a smile."

Morse said she was with 100 or more clerks of the court and heard one clerk brag that her court staff had reduced the waiting time for traffic court offenders from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. "My heart started to beat," Morse said. "Our waiting time was 4 ½ minutes. I felt better in a hurry."