County of El Dorado

When Janelle Horne ran for recorder-clerk in 2018, she was a first-time candidate. At the time, the former Land Home Financial Services loan officer told the Mountain Democrat, “I believe about 75 percent of documents filed in the Recorder-Clerk’s office have to do with real property. That’s my experience and that’s why I was encouraged to run for the office—because of my qualifications and experience with legal documents.”

The mother of four and wife of a Marine veteran and acting law enforcement officer, Horne says she believes in caring for others and giving back to this community that she and her family love so much.

That caring for others is evident in a video Horne made with El Dorado Hills real estate agent Kelli Griggs, warning the El Dorado community about an ongoing fraud. Horne says her office is recording real estate transactions that contain 40-year covenants. These covenants will cost future owners money. “Please advise your loved ones NOT to sign their rights away for a bit of quick cash.”

She also made a brief video in 2019 about two services that the El Dorado County Clerk’s office provides for veterans. One is to record and obtain a DD-214 form at no cost; the other is providing a fictitious business name statement, which is needed by veterans to obtain a business license through the county.

Her first run was covered by KQED in a series on women running for office. “It's just a very big frustration ... the division between the two parties,” Horne said in the piece. “This is a nonpartisan office. It shouldn't matter what you're registered as. It should matter who you are, your experience and what you bring.”

First elected: November 2018