By Whit Jones thecabin.net Copyright 2012 The Cabin. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Angela Hill wants her boss’ job, and he’s OK with it.

Hill has been Faulkner County Assessor Jeff Stephens’ chief deputy throughout his 10-term tenure. She announced Wednesday that she will attempt to become Stephens’ successor, and he said he endorses the fellow Democrat’s election bid.

Hill, 43, of Vilonia is the first announced assessor candidate. Stephens said he will leave office at year’s end to pursue other opportunities.

Stephens and Hill both joined the office staff when Stephens’ father, the late L.P. Stephens of Conway, served as assessor. Jeff Stephens named Hill his chief deputy when he succeeded his father in 1993.

“I hope the voters will give me an opportunity to use my years of experience to keep the office moving forward and to better serve the people of Faulkner County,” Hill said.

She said she will operate the office “in the most effective and affordable way possible,” maintain an open-door policy and ensure that the office continues to operate in a professional manner.

Hill became qualified as a Level 4 senior appraiser by the state in 1990. She is a member of the Arkansas Assessor’s Association and Urban Regional Information Systems Association.

She has received GIS (geographic information system) training in recent years and is working toward a Cadastral Mapping Specialist designation.

Hill said she implemented the use of quarter-section plat sheets in the assessor’s office for mapping acreage parcels.

“We have come so far from those first hand-drawn sheets to GIS mapping and more,” she said.

Hill’s husband of 25 years, Jimmy, works for Kimberly-Clark Corp. facility in Maumelle. They have two daughters: Ashlie, 21, and Amber, 17. The Hills are members of Oak Bowery Baptist Church. Angela Hill is a graduate of Wonderview High School.

The assessor’s position currently pays $70,000 annually.