[StBernard] St. Bernard court clerk Lena Torres will seek re-election

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard court clerk Lena Torres will seek re-election

Published: Monday, August 01, 2011, 5:10 PM     Updated: Monday, August 01,
2011, 5:14 PM

 By Dennis Persica, The Times-Picayune 

St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court Lena R. Torres has announced her candidacy
for re-election in the Oct. 22 election.

Torres, who was elected to the post in 1988, said the parish has "one of the
most efficient clerk of court's offices in Louisiana."

"It is an office that keeps pace with modern advances and always provides
responsive, courteous service to the citizens of our parish," she said in a
news release announcing her candidacy.

"A modern, efficient, competent court system is crucial to the future of St.
Bernard," she said. "In these challenging times for the people of our
parish, we need to keep our clerk of court's office moving forward in the
right direction."

Torres pointed out that the clerk's office maintains a policy of same-day
service and has fully converted to digital systems.

Torres has been a member of the St. Bernard Society for Crippled Children;
the Business and Professional Women's Club; the Battered Women's
Association; the Kiwanis Club; the Elenians Club; the Retired Teachers
Association; the Serra Club, Chalmette Medical Centers Auxiliary; Arabi
Lions Women's Auxiliary; the International Association of Clerks, Recorders,
Election Officials and Treasurers; and the Los Islenos Cultural and Heritage
Society.

She served as chairman of the St. Bernard March of Dimes and received the
Alliance for Good Government's Past President's Award. She was selected
Woman of the Year by the St. Bernard Business and Professional Women's Club.

Other awards include the Nicholls State University Women in Government
Certificate of Recognition Award, Louisiana American Italian Sports Hall of
Fame Civic Recognition Award and the Louisiana State University Strength in
Aging Award.

She has served on the board of directors of the Louisiana Clerks of Court
Association and on its insurance and appellate court committees.

Torres succeeded her husband Sidney D. Torres Jr. in the office after his
death in 1988.