By Jorge Casuso

March 6, 2012 -- After keeping Santa Monica's legislative records, managing a dozen elections and attending and summarizing nearly every City Council meeting for almost two decades, Santa Monica City Clerk Maria Stewart is stepping down.

Stewart, who will retire in the first week of May, broke the news during the City Council's closed session last week, but she offered to continue in the post if needed until a replacement is found.

"I cannot think of a better place to work in civil service," Stewart told The Lookout Monday. "There is so much public participation. It makes us stay on our toes. It feels good."

Managing elections and keeping records are only two of the duties performed by the clerk's dozen employees, who also compile and prepare stacks of materials for each council meeting, the office doubling as a mailroom and print shop.

And after several hundred City Council sessions, Stewart has become a staple of City Hall, sitting at the desk to the front right of the dais, her familiar voice calling out the items, asking the council members for their vote and announcing their decisions.

But it is during election season that Stewart and her staff are most active. Since becoming City Clerk in 1995, Stewart has managed eleven elections, including a pioneering weekend race designed to increase voter turnout and an all-mail election.

"It was exciting and cutting edge, and we learned a lot," Stewart said of the two-day special weekend election in 1999 that saw Mayor Richard Bloom win a seat on the council.

Stewart also organized smaller-scale elections, such as the 2008 Downtown Property Based Assessment District (PBAD) election in which 230 property owners cast ballots.

Stewart, who has worked in local government offices since she was a teenager, rose through the ranks in Pasadena, landing a job in the City Attorney’s office as a legal secretary, becoming an office manager, an assistant city clerk and finally City Clerk.

“I kind of stumbled into the position,” Stewart told The Lookout in 2008 when asked how she became a City Clerk.

"This has been my second family for 16 years," she said Monday.

Stewart, who is an avid reader and likes to frequent the gym, became a grandmother in December and, outside of spending more time with her family, says she has no specific plans, at least not yet.

"I'm not going to sit idle," she said. "I'm looking forward to seeing what I can embark on."