A bittersweet promotion for new clerk

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Two weeks ago Tina Cote was sworn in as Clerk of District Court after being chosen over two other candidates, Melissa Ault and Vicki Keierleber, who had submitted their names and resumes for consideration by the Weston County Republican Party before moving forward to interview with the Weston County Commissioners. 
Cote said that while the way she was able to get the position is bittersweet — Cote and former clerk Gidget Macke were close friends and coworkers — she does plan to embrace the position and utilize the wisdom passed on to her by Macke before her passing. 
According to Cote, she has worked in the Weston County District Court Clerk’s office for 12 years, beginning as assistant deputy to clerk Sandra Walford before becoming Deputy District Court Clerk for Gidget Macke in 2014.  She said that when she first took the position she was excited to learn aspects of law, and what the clerk’s office brings to the different facets of the law. 
“When someone files a case they start with the clerk,” Cote said. “We are the keepers of the legal documents and extensive knowledge of the confidentiality required with law documents. We hold very high standards for confidentiality in this office.” 
Cote was selected by the Weston County Commissioners to fill the position left vacant by Macke’s passing until the 2020 election in which Cote will have to run and be reelected to fill the position again in January 2021. She said she plans to run at that time and stay with the District Court’s office as long as possible. 
Right by her side throughout this journey has been Cote’s 25-year-old daughter Zoey, who attended the Weston County Republican Party meeting and interview with the Weston County Commissioners with her mother and grandparents, Harry and Elaine Wilcomb. 
“My mom is one of the strongest, smartest people I know,” Zoey said. “She and Gidget worked together for 12 years and over that time they became great friends. I’m so proud of her for taking initiative and keeping their office running as smoothly as Gidget did.” 
Cote said that she and her family are all very close. She moved to Newcastle 22 years ago, following her parents from New Hampshire, with her two young children, Zoey and her son Sebastian, who is three years younger. 
“Newcastle had that small-town, hometown feeling, and I knew it would be a wonderful place to raise my kids,” Cote said, noting that the only time she has left Newcastle and Weston County in the last 22 years is when her husband was laid off and they relocated to Cripple Creek, Colo., in 2016. 
“We moved for only a few months and I was actually able to get a position in the Cripple Creek District Court office,” Cote said.