A Rare Behind-the-Scenes Look at Colorado’s Busiest County Job
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Step inside the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s office on any given Tuesday and you will find Bobbie Gross doing exactly what she promised voters she would do: show up.
She is the first clerk in years to let cameras follow her through an entire workday, from public hearings to motor vehicle lines to quiet moments reviewing land records. What emerges is a portrait of a public servant juggling a dozen roles at once, determined to prove the office belongs to the people again.
“I just want people to see we are here and we are working for them,” Gross told me as we walked the hallway between divisions.
The office she leads still carries scars from the Tina Peters era. Peters, her predecessor, was convicted in October 2024 on seven of ten counts related to a 2021 election security breach and is awaiting sentencing in 2025. Gross won the 2022 election on a simple message: restore trust, run clean elections, keep the doors open.
She has spent every day since trying to deliver.
7:30 a.m. — The Day Starts with Liquor and Land
Gross is already in the county commissioners’ hearing room presenting a new liquor license for Happy Goat LLC, a small farm-to-table spot opening in Clifton.
She reads the findings in a clear, steady voice: background checks complete, fees paid, neighborhood petition signed by 87 residents. The commissioners approve it in less than four minutes.
Most people only see the clerk when they renew tabs or drop a ballot. They never witness these small moments that keep the local economy moving. In 2024 alone, her office processed 312 liquor and marijuana business licenses, every one requiring her personal sign-off.
9:00 a.m. — Motor Vehicle Never Sleeps
Summer is peak season for vehicle registrations in a county full of boats, campers, and side-by-sides. The lobby counter is slammed.
Gross puts on a clerk vest and jumps behind the counter herself, something she does several times a week.
“Ma’am, your title is right here, we just need one more signature,” she tells an elderly woman who drove in from Gateway. The relief on the woman’s face is instant.
Staff say Gross’s willingness to work the window keeps morale high. Turnover that plagued the office for years has almost stopped. In 2024, the motor vehicle division processed more than 185,000 transactions with fewer complaints than any year in recent memory.
Noon — A Quick Check on Elections
Even in an off-year, elections never really sleep.
Gross walks me through the vault where voting equipment is stored under double locks and constant video surveillance, upgrades she fought for after the 2021 breach.
She opens her laptop and shows the new risk-limiting audit software the county now uses. Mesa County ran Colorado’s first post-2022 risk-limiting audit in 2023 and found zero discrepancies.
“We aren’t perfect,” she says, “but we are transparent. Every step is documented, every machine is tested in public, and anyone can watch.”
2:00 p.m. — Helping Smaller Towns
The town of Palisade is running its own municipal election this spring. Gross’s office supplied the voter list, loaned secure ballot boxes, and trained their poll workers.
Palisade Town Clerk Sarah Smith calls it a lifesaver for a town of 2,500 people.
“Bobbie treats us like partners, not nuisances,” Smith said. “That’s new.”
Gross does the same for Collbran, De Beque, and the Fruita recall effort last fall. When small towns ask for help, she says yes.
The Washington Trip That Paid Off
Last year Gross joined other clerks in Washington, D.C., lobbying for the return of federal election security grants that had dried up.
They came home with $3 million earmarked for Colorado counties in the latest federal budget, money that will pay for new firewalls, updated tabulation software, and staff training.
Mesa County expects to receive about $180,000 of it in 2025.
“That trip mattered,” Gross says quietly. “Cybersecurity isn’t political. It’s math.”
End of Day — Still Answering Emails
By 5:30 p.m. most county buildings are dark. Gross is still at her desk answering constituent emails herself.
One man wrote to complain about a $28 late fee on his trailer registration. Gross looked it up, saw the notice had gone to an old address, and waived the fee on the spot.
“That’s why I’m here,” she says, closing the laptop. “Little things become big things when people feel ignored.”
Gross is term-limited after two terms. She plans to run again in 2026 and says she will keep the cameras rolling if voters want them.
After everything Mesa County has been through, the simple act of opening the door feels revolutionary.
