“Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first,” Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president, once said.

Unfortunately, Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez, both Democrats, maintain significant staff turnover – a distinct result of their own leadership failures.

In last week’s CBS4 secretary of state candidates’ debate, Griswold was pressed on official postcards sent by her office to 30,000 noncitizens, urging them to register to vote.

“It was a data glitch,” Griswold excused herself. “I believe this has happened in prior administrations, but now we’re in such a hot political atmosphere that data glitches can fuel major disinformation.”

Yet, this isn’t the first time it’s happened on her watch. The same error took place in 2020.

“Making the error – the same error – again, points to a management problem. Points to a lack of leadership,” Pam Anderson, Griswold’s Republican opponent, countered. “I think it’s because you’ve had three deputy secretaries, four chiefs of staff, at least three (communications) directors and at least three legislative liaisons. And that turnover results in mistakes.”

Anderson is right. Perpetual leadership failure begets staff turnover which begets mistakes. Griswold’s revolving doors keep turning.

In January 2021, I was the first to report on Griswold’s substantial staffing woes – a “level of appointee turnover and multiple extended vacancies alone (that) is unprecedented at the office in this century.” Notably, these positions are political appointees handpicked by Griswold herself.

It’s truly historic. For example, under six secretaries from 1999 to 2019, Colorado had only two deputy secretaries of state (Bill Hobbs and Suzanne Staiert). One secretary – Griswold – swiftly burned through two more and was already on her third, Christopher Beall, by May 2021.

Why such turbulent turnover? “It certainly isn’t the pay; the deputy SOS, for instance, makes six figures and more than three times Colorado’s median income,” I wrote. “Perhaps it’s because Griswold can’t lead and doesn’t provide a valuable working environment.”

Indeed, in a since-deleted LinkedIn post from late-2019 after he left Griswold’s office, former legislative liaison Reese Edwards advised there were “other options that are better suited for talented individuals looking to make an impact in Colorado.”

Why? “Given the overwhelmingly positive nature of LinkedIn I will keep to the platform’s general ethos by only pointing out that this office has over 200% turnover within its executive team in less than two years under current leadership.”

Lopez, too, has failed to embody the qualities of leadership needed to retain staff.

“Nothing has changed from the beginning,” lamented one current employee. “Even some of the people that were really championing Joan because they thought they were her friend. Employees, citizens alike, I’ve heard it from all angles. Mostly the staff at work.”

“We don’t have the staff to take vacations that we’ve rightfully earned,” the employee continued, noting the 30% to 40% staffing shortages in all three Arapahoe DMV offices hampers everything. More front-line employees are desperately needed.

Yet, in a recent Q&A with the Aurora Sentinel, Lopez preposterously claimed that “Arapahoe County is fully staffed.”

This is flagrantly false. As I discussed in Friday’s Gazette, according to clerk records, Lopez’s office is understaffed by 28 of 128 full-time employees – up from 15 vacancies in 2020. The Centennial motor-vehicle office is short 10 full-time positions, including a supervisor.

“We are all overworked due to the staffing shortages, but we all work together as a team to help the citizens of Arapahoe County,” another worker said.

Clerk employees report feeling discarded, their morale dismissed. “Regardless of who I have interviewed, an inescapable pattern emerges,” I wrote. “‘Toxic,’ ‘micromanagement,’ ‘overworked,’ ‘burnt out’ and ‘targeted’ keep coming up.”

After motor-vehicle specialist Tricia Westfall was murdered by her husband last year, the Centennial branch closed entirely the day of the funeral. The other offices, however, did not.

“I thought it was very cold for them not to allow everyone to attend her funeral,” one employee recalled. “Only Centennial was closed. They did say reach out if you’d like to go, but not everyone could go. If you did, and you weren’t from the Centennial office, you had to go back to work that afternoon.

“Grieving is not the same for everyone; they should have closed down every office,” the employee added. “They preach this ‘team’ thing, but why not practice what you preach? That’s kind of an example of how cold they can be (with Lopez as clerk).”

Talk about “cold as ice.” In a statement released Monday, Lopez’s Republican opponent, Caroline Cornell, promised better.

“Creating a professional and respectful environment that’s designed to serve the public starts with supporting your staff,” she said. “I’ll build an environment of trust and competency that will fully restore Arapahoe County’s ability to serve the public quickly and efficiently.”

Author Stephen R. Covey put it best: “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” When your customers are your elected constituents, this truism becomes ever more important.

If only Jena Griswold and Joan Lopez had learned this important lesson during the past four years.

Fortunately, Pam Anderson and Caroline Cornell get it.

Jimmy Sengenberger is host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. He also hosts “Jimmy at the Crossroads,” a webshow and podcast in partnership with The Washington Examiner.