For Ed Wildberger, the choice between the Buchanan County clerk position and the recorder of deeds came down to a head start.

The Buchanan County Central Democratic Committee unanimously nominated Mr. Wildberger to replace Karen Higginbotham as the recorder of deeds on Wednesday. Ms. Higginbotham, after 31 years working in that office, will retire Oct. 30. Gov. Bob Holden appointed Ms. Higginbotham to run the office in January 2002.

Mr. Wildberger, who currently holds the 27th House District seat, faces term limits and the 2010 session would be his last. He considered both county positions for his next political move.

The current clerk, Pat Conway, will run for Mr. Wildberger’s representative seat in the November 2010 election.

“When (the recorder of deeds) opened up, I thought this is a good opportunity to get in there a year before the election and make sure I like the job, make sure I can do the job,” said Mr. Wildberger, who added he wouldn’t plan to leave the term early if a “good candidate” like Mr. Conway hadn’t stepped forward to replace him. “It looked like the door was opening at the right time.”

Bill Caldwell, chairman of the county’s central Democratic committee, told the News-Press he spoke with Gov. Jay Nixon’s office Thursday morning and expects a response in the next couple of weeks. While the governor has the final say in who replaces Ms. Higginbotham, Mr. Caldwell said it would be a shock if Mr. Nixon chose someone other than Mr. Wildberger.

“I think he will go with our recommendation,” Mr. Caldwell said. “I’m reasonably certain of that.”

Ms. Higginbotham turns 65 next month, and if re-elected, she would be in line to serve until she was 70. Ms. Higginbotham is retiring to spend more time with her family. While it will be difficult for her to walk away from the office in which she worked for the past three decades, the current recorder said she couldn’t be more pleased about her apparent successor.

“When you care about your job and you are so involved with your job, it’s very difficult to walk away,” she said. “But with Ed coming in, I know it’s going to be in good hands, and I know he will continue to carry on with the same care and concern I’ve had for this office.

“He will have the expertise of knowing how to communicate with Jefferson City, that he would definitely be a plus for this office.”

The recorder of deeds office is one of the least controversial elected offices in the courthouse, but most every person comes in contact with it at some point. It is the official handler of real estate deeds and liens, marriage licenses, military discharges, subdivision plats, power of attorney and more.

R.J. Cooper can be reached

at rjcooper@npgco.com.