Candidate for
Clerk of Courts; County of Hamilton; Democratic Party

This new era requires a rebirth of new and bold ideas. It requires the Democratic party to reclaim its roots as a party of progress. I will be the kind of public servant who works for our common future to ensure a brighter world for our children and to ensure that we leave them a more responsible and responsive government.

I am honored to be running for Clerk of Courts and I am looking forward to meeting the great people of Hamilton County. This campaign is about alternatives. It is about putting another voice in the court system--a voice that will protect your basic rights to privacy while ensuring that you have access to necessary public information. It is about having a greater Democratic voice in the court system because it is time for an alternative to "business as usual."

I am running for Clerk of Courts because I am that alternative. I am running because I believe government should be about more than bottom lines. Government should be a place where the interests of the people are always priority one, where civil liberties are valued and common sense is prized above bureaucracy. Government should be a place where citizens come together, have tough dialogue and find solutions to our common issues.

I will make it my top priority to secure all documents accessed over the internet so that your privacy is always protected. Also, I will ensure that all documents would have sensitive material like telephone numbers, addresses and social security numbers blacked out before being published on the web system. To do anything less is irresponsible, and it should be the duty of every public servant to protect the privacy of every citizen.

We are not talking about what documents the public should be allowed to access. I believe that citizens have every right to access information freely, but the debate comes down to simple common sense. If government is going to publish documents with sensitive information like social security numbers, then government should take common sense precautions, like blacking out the social security number before publishing. While a "blue ribbon panel" is a good start, we need a commitment to forethought and continual evaluation of the policies and practices of the Clerk of Courts office. We need to expect more from our public servants, and I promise to work tirelessly to protect your privacy and your civil liberties as your Clerk of Courts.

As your Clerk of Courts, it will be my mission to bring the highest level of ethical standards and governmental responsibility to the Clerk's office. These standards include high quality public service to all who come into the office, non-discriminatory hiring practices, discipline in financial planning, and most importantly protecting the private information so that it does not become available over an open internet. Public service should be our number one priority and that service must include the protection of those we serve in every way possible.

I strongly believe that government can be something better than it has become. I believe that government can be something people can trust because they know that it is working for them. I believe government should be responsible and ethical at every level and I will work to ensure that you are served in such a way at the office of the Clerk of Courts.