Sondra Dittmer Sixberry was selected Thursday by a caucus of the local Republican Party as the new Montgomery County Clerk.
The rural Crawfordsville woman replaces Leah Craft Denbo, who resigned the office as of Friday.
Denbo had worked in the clerk’s office since 2012. She took over earlier this year after a GOP caucus elected her to fill a vacancy that was created when long-time clerk Karyn Douglas was elected clerk-treasurer for the City of Crawfordsville.
Sixberry, a newcomer to public office, defeated Denbo in the May Primary Election to receive the GOP nomination. She is unopposed heading into the General Election in November.
Sixberry was the only candidate to file for the recent vacancy. She will begin her official duties Monday.
“I appreciate Sondra stepping in a few months earlier than planned,” said Jim Johnson, chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee. “She has a tall task ahead of her to get acclimated very quickly and learn everything that goes into being a county clerk. To her advantage, she has support and resources she can rely on.
“While the county clerk’s office is responsible for far more than just running our local elections, we do have a very important election this year that Sondra will have to jump in and manage. Thankfully, our elections run smoothly here and without similar problems we have seen in other states, so Sondra is taking over a well-oiled machine.”
Sixberry expressed her gratitude to the Republican Party for the trust and confidence they have placed in her as she moves into this new role.
“I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to both Karyn Douglas and Leah Denbo for their past service in the Montgomery County Clerk’s Office,” she said. “I am looking forward to working alongside the current staff in the office and learning from each of them.”
Angie Peebles will join Sixberry as the new chief deputy clerk.
“I am humbled by the support I have already received from the community and look forward to serving the people of Montgomery County,” she added.
Sixberry is a graduate of Southmont High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Olivet Nazarene University and a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University. She and her husband Troy are the parents of three children.
