Elise Hui named Oakland town clerk

In December 2018, Elise Hui was hired to help promote the town of Oakland with a more accessible website and assist Town Manager Steve Koontz with tasks. Her title was administrative services manager, and the role was a new one created by the town.

A year later, Hui is the new town clerk. She assumed the role when former Town Clerk Kim Gay took a position with another municipality.

Her transition into the clerk’s role was seamless because she already had been helping Gay with making sure the agenda was accessible on the town website. She slowly assumed other clerk responsibilities —in the interim — until Koontz and HR Director Nancy Kulscar offered her the position.

She said she is pleased that they have faith in her to do the job. Elisha Pappacoda has since been hired to fill Hui’s previous role, freeing her up to fully focus on her job.

“I don’t like to do things halfway,” Hui said. “I like to really know what I’m doing to do it fully.”

Already, she has been able to apply for and receive a grant to install electric-vehicle charging stations in several locations in the town.

As town clerk, Hui is the official keeper of the records. She attends all Town Commission meetings, as well as the various board meetings: School Advisory Committee, Planning & Zoning and Code Enforcement hearings.

She also processes public record requests, records all official documents, handles all advertising and elections and puts together all meeting agendas.

Prior to moving to Florida, Hui worked in the affordable housing realm for more than 20 years and was executive director for a housing authority in Oregon.

“That one I really had to use all my experience, so I got certified (in human resources),” she said. “I dealt with boards and commissions. … We had a nonprofit made up of city officials.”

Looking for a change, Hui looked into the advertised position in Oakland because she thought it was a good compilation of all of her skills.

She has a Bachelor of Science in social sciences and a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resource management.

She fell in love with Oakland as soon as she saw it.

“I grew up in a very small town in the Oregon coast, and I loved that everybody looked out for everybody,” she said. “Before I applied for this job, I drove through town and I thought, ‘I love it.’ … People are super friendly. Already, not even being here a year, the other coworkers are family.

“It was super easy from the get-go,” she said. “I love all the progress we’re making and the movement forward while also keeping in mind the quaintness of Oakland.”