It is Cassandra Candini-Tilton job to make sure Manteca residents “have a seat at the table” when it comes to their city government.

Candini-Tilton is  Manteca’s Director of Legislative Services/City Clerk.

The three-person department she oversees handles a lot of essential civic duties.

But one that stands out somewhat more than the others on that  list and ranks as her favorite aspect of her job is helping citizens interact with their city government.

That runs the gamut from helping make sure their voices are heard and being able to access government records and such to troubleshooting their city-related problems even if it is just steering them to the right person.

“We may not know the answer but we know where to look for it,” said Candini-Tilton who will mark her fifth anniversary as city clerk in February.

A city clerk’s duties includes:
*serving as the local elections official.

*preparing City Council meeting agenda packets

*being Manteca’s compliance officer for local, state, and federal statutes.

*the responsibility of recording decisions of the council.

*being the keeper of city records that run the gamut from the municipal code and administrative records to council resolutions.

*conducting bid openings.

*verifying legal notices that have been posted and published.

*administering oath of offices.

*accepting and processes special event requests such as using city streets and facilities for this weekend’s Pumpkin Fair.

*administering the citywide contract execution process.

*assisting City Council members

That’s just a few of the duties.

Her office also helps to coordinate between departments to help make sure council decisions are followed through on.

As such, she likens the city’s clerk office as being at the center of a triangle with other departments delivering various services to residents such as public safety, parks and recreation, street upkeep, wastewater treatment, solid waste collection and more

“We’re the heartbeat of the city,” she noted.

Helping Manteca residents to navigate city government and making sure the city is as transparent as it legally can be under state law is the aspect of the job she enjoys the most as it allows her to interact with people.

To that end, her office so far has handled 377 formal public information requests that serve as the key to California’s transparency laws. That is in addition to countless requests for information.

The public records request will sometimes require searching old paper documents given older records have not all been digitalized

Manteca has also made accessing city documents and the municipal code via the city website much more robust than it was previously.

Working at City Hall wasn’t even on the radar for Candini-Tilton when she graduated from Manteca High in 2006.

After Delta College, she enrolled in culinary school but came to the conclusion cooking wasn’t the career for her.

She applied in 2014 to work as a customer representative for the city’s finance department.

Her interactions with people who were paying utility bills was so engaging that it caught the attention of Jose Jasso in the city clerk’s office who suggested she apply for a customer service position that had become vacant in that department.

“I loved it,” she said of working the front desk in the clerk’s office.

Jasso took another job elsewhere in city administration. When he returned a few years later, Candini-Tilton had been promoted to city clerk. Jasso is now Manteca’s assistant city manager.

Candini-Tilton has been tapped to serve in regional and state roles with city clerk assortations.

She considers herself fortunate to assist people who also call Manteca home.

“I love Manteca,” she said.

And one of the biggest loves she has, along with husband Spenser, is taking advantage of Manteca’s numerous city parks with their children Lucas, 7, and Kendall, 3.

They have a map of the city’s 70 plus parks and  have visited the vast majority of them so far.

 To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com