Putnam County Clerk Dennis Sant is in a job in which he has to be careful to dot the i”™s
and cross the t”™s.
He is especially vigilant about crossing the “t” in his own last name. His failure to do so as a 16-year-old applying for a driver”™s license caused a bureaucrat to heap scorn and inconvenience on him. The memory of the incident has made him determined in his present post to be considerate of the public.
The scene back then was set in Carmel. “The line for driver”™s licenses went out the door,” Sant recalled. “After two hours of waiting, I was sent to the back of the line for not crossing the ”˜t”™ in my name. Another two-hour wait remained before I got my junior driver”™s license. I felt no citizen should be treated like this. That was one of my motivations to become a public servant.”
Sant, who holds the triple titles of county clerk, commissioner of motor vehicles and record management officer, said of his current operation: “We don”™t charge for pens, and we don”™t make you go to the back of the line if information is incomplete. Our DMV has a reputation for short lines and courtesy.”
Born in the Bronx and raised in Brewster, Sant attended Sullivan County Junior College before enlisting in the Air Force. He went on to own a credit agency.
Onlookers thought Sant, at age 23, had taken on an unachievable mission as campaign manager for Joseph Peloso, an underdog seeking to unseat the 24-year incumbent county clerk, C. William Rich. “Joe Peloso was a great campaigner,” Sant recalled. “We hit over 7,000 doors.”
With the Peloso victory, Sant became deputy clerk and was appointed clerk by Gov. George Pataki when Peloso retired in 2000. He later ran for the post, won handily and will seek reelection in 2010. He supervises 50 employees in his three positions.
Sant has overseen institution of electronic filing. “A resident can visit the clerk”™s office 24 hours a day on line at www.landaccess.com and look at mortgages, deeds and vital records. There is a nominal fee of $5 per instrument,” he said, and added that inspection at the county office building is free except for 25 cents a page for use of the copying machine.
If he has one disappointment in his job, it is that county offices are so scattered. “It would be nice if the public could have one-stop shopping,” he said. He travels from the Carmel county office building to Brewster in his role as commissioner of motor vehicles.
Storage space for future records is an immediate problem haunting him. He created the first records center ever in Putnam County to save archival treasures by having them stored in a climatically controlled archival room in the record center in Brewster.
Another innovation of the Sant administration has been tribute paid to town and village clerks. Honored at his initial testimonial event was Philipstown”™s Tina Merando, who faithfully carried out duties and more during the long illness of her late husband, former Nelsonville Mayor William Merando.
“These are the unsung heroes of our county,” Sant said of the local clerks. “They are the closest elected position to the people, and they are safeguarding local historical treasures.”
The Putnam clerk has a major political asset in the person of his wife, Kathleen, whose infectious smile and warm personality have endeared her to Putnamites of all political persuasions. The two met more than 26 years ago when he was a widower with four small children. Sitting in the First Baptist Church in Brewster, he was drawn to the choir member with the special smile. She opted to name their only child after Sant”™s first wife, Elizabeth. Sant now has 10 grandchildren. “There”™s always a christening going on,” he remarked.
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Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be e-mailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.