Party: Rep
Occupation: Former Clerk of the Clermont County Municipal Court
Position you are seeking: Clermont County Recorder
Work Experience: Clerk of the Clermont County Municipal Court 2004-2021
Assistant Clerk to the Clerk of the Common Pleas Court 1996-2003
Ohio Department of Taxation, Sales Tax Agent 1988-1996
Management Trainee, Citizens Bank of Higginsport 1986-1988
Rudd Cattle Farm 1981-1986
Education: B.A. Economics, University of Cincinnati 1981
Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Felicity-Franklin High School 1977
Age: 65
What in your background qualifies you to serve in this position? Why are you running for this position? What is your platform?
I believe that I am uniquely qualified to be the next Clermont County Recorder due to my experience both as an elected official and in my various leadership positions. I served as the Clerk of Clermont County Municipal Court for 18 years. The Clerk and Recorder share similar duties as their primary function is to maintain certain documents. As Clerk I oversaw a staff which at times approached 25 people which is five times the number of employees of the current Recorder. My office was responsible for the filing of close to 40,000 cases a year. As the elected clerk I was tasked with the maintenance of all Municipal Court case files, all docketing on the cases, the handling and distribution of all funds pertaining to each case, and the reporting to the various state agencies such as the Ohio BMV and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. My office was subject to audit by the Ohio State Auditor and I never had a finding against my office. My leadership experience includes my 18 years as an elected official, 16 years as Chairman of the Clermont County Republican Party, Chair of the Clermont County Board of Elections, President of the Clermont County Educational Service Center and President of the Clermont County Senior Services Housing Board. Driving around the county you cannot help but notice the building boom on both primary and secondary roads.
What are the most pressing issues facing Clermont County that come before someone who is elected to the position you seek? If elected, what would you seek to enhance and improve Clermont County?
The main issue facing the county will be one of maintaining the infrastructure to serve a growing population. From the Recorder’s standpoint that means keeping up with technology to efficiently and economically service the various customers of the office in primarily the main function of recording land titles and ancillary filings such as mortgages, liens, etc. I believe I am uniquely qualified as I introduced imaging and credit cards to the Clerk of Municipal Court Office. As Assistant Clerk of the Common Pleas Court I oversaw the implementation of a cutting edge case management system that transformed an office from a 16 column ledger sheet and manual docket books to a searchable relational database in the Municipal Court Division. I also believe the next Recorder should look into introducing a Good Deeds program to aid county citizens. I am a native to Clermont County having lived here all my life. I have been married for 37 years and have a grown son. I believe my experience as a proven leader and trusted elected official make me uniquely qualified to be the next Clermont County Recorder.