From collection Candidates
In November 1919, Mrs. Helen Essex, running on the Republican ticket, was elected to the position of town clerk of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York. She succeeded her husband as town clerk. Before her campaign, Mrs. Essex was already well-versed in her duties as Town Clerk. She assisted her husband during his term as town clerk, and performed his duties during his illness. During her term, Mrs. Essex hired her husband, Harry T. Essex as her Deputy Town Clerk. In 1942, while acting as Town Clerk and vice chairman of the Republican County Committee, she was indicted by a grand jury in a case involving gambling conditions in Rockland County.