TRUMBULL COUNTY Courts clerk opting for a subdued exit

There has been no transition period, the incoming clerk of courts said.
WARREN -- Margaret O'Brien says she wants to go quietly.
The retiring Trumbull County clerk of courts, who left office Friday, declined requests to talk about her tenure.
She also didn't say much to her successor, Karen Infante Allen of Niles.
"I assume she chose not to have a transition period," Infante Allen said.
The lack of any formal transition, Infante Allen noted, was not her idea -- noting she had written a letter to O'Brien in December.
"We'll just go in there and hit the ground running," she said.
Infante Allen said she has on her own been in regular contact with many of the clerk's staff; they know who Infante Allen is "and we'll be just fine," she said.
A veteran politician, O'Brien, a Democrat, did not seek re-election. She had supported another candidate, former state Rep. June Lucas, during the Democratic primary election, Infante Allen noted.
Infante Allen, who had been the systems administrator in the Niles Municipal Court, won that primary and then defeated Republican David T. Simon in November.
From the beginning
O'Brien, meanwhile, leaves the courthouse much changed from the way she found it in 1988.
She came on board after defeating 10-term Clerk Violet Campana Whitman. O'Brien previously served on Warren council and had run unsuccessfully for mayor against Daniel J. Sferra.
Her son Michael is now Warren mayor; previously he was a county commissioner.
One of the first tasks of Margaret O'Brien as clerk was to see through plans for office computerization. Complete computerized records began in 1996. In January 2000 the clerk of courts Web site was activated.
In addition, the clerk's office was relocated from the top floor to the ground floor in the renovated courthouse; the auto title department remained on the ground floor of the administration building after O'Brien fought a plan by the commissioners to relocate it.
She has fought her share of battles, too.
In 2000, the Ohio Auditor's Office cautioned her about using employees for personal business. O'Brien, who doesn't drive, was using employees to chauffeur her to and from work and on private errands while on public time. But the state said it isn't illegal for elected officials to hire a driver, though the trips should be limited to public business.
This issue was raised during the March 2000 primary election by O'Brien's opponent, Infante Allen. That year, all Trumbull County incumbent officeholders won endorsement from the county's Democratic party except O'Brien, who lost the endorsement to Infante Allen, but still won the primary election.
O'Brien noted then, however, that she has won elections both with and without the party endorsement.
In 2002, Niles Mayor Ralph A. Infante Jr., a party loyalist, defeated O'Brien 105-98 for the party's first vice chair post.
Now, she will be succeeded in retirement by his sister, Infante Allen.