Renton City Clerk Bonnie Walton laughs when asked what she’s going to do when she retires on Oct. 1. She’s presently on a long vacation until that time and so far she’s been to the San Juan Islands, had a celebration at Salty’s on Alki and still has plans to go to Hawaii.

It’s all a long way from Renton City Hall, where Walton spent the past 18 years, including 12 as city clerk.

“I think I will do something,” she said in an interview at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park recently. “I feel happiest when I’ve helped somebody with something, something either volunteer or parttime, I don’t know. I’ll do something to still contribute.”

Walton came to City Hall in 1993 as an office assistant hired by Marilyn Petersen, the city clerk at the time. She had worked for 14 years previously at a private school called the Thomas Academy in Auburn. The job in city government just sort of fit her needs at the time, having recently been a stay-at-home-mom.

Walton left the city briefly for a year-and-a-half while her husband took a job, but she returned fulltime in 1997.

“Then when I worked there and came back I had liked the job,” she said. “I liked the people, I liked the place; I liked the work.”

Walton has served the city under four mayors: Earl Clymer, Jesse Tanner, Kathy Keolker and Denis Law, the present mayor. During her employment the city’s population has grown from 43,470 in 1993 to 97,130 in 2014. She was promoted to city clerk in 2002 and was excited by the opportunity for ongoing education and learning that went with the job.

“My goal was to make things better, make improvements…” Walton said. “Every time you go to a class or seminar you get pumped up.”

She thinks most people have no idea what the City Clerk’s Office does. She’s quick to remind that her office “links citizens to their government, serves as a neutral office in the political arena, serves council, administrative staff and citizens equally and provides city-wide information and referral service, including oversight of the Lobby Information Desk Volunteer Program.”

She also has provided legislative support administering the Council meetings, providing citywide records management, voter registration and election services and duties and other legal obligations as a function of her job.

“Helping people I think is the nutshell of it,” she said. “Trying to put people at ease, citizens with government and learning and referring them where they need to go. I think it was just being able to help and know that it mattered.”

City Council has had to deal with some controversial issues over the years and for Walton the issues that will stick most in her mind are around the Fairwood and West Hill annexation issues, which caused her office a lot of filing, but they were also exciting, she said.

“It’s exciting and then a lot of detail to make sure you do everything right,” Walton said. “Just kind of a lot of interesting and varied things.”

When she recalls her days with the city there’s not anything negative that sticks out in her mind.

“I think overall they’re a great bunch of people and everybody’s doing their best and doing the best with what they have at the time,” Walton said.