Re-elect Brown-Clark to 4th term as clerk of court

A 18-year incumbent office- holder and a relatively new – yet familiar – face on Youngstown’s political scene are squaring off in the Nov. 7 general election for clerk of Youngstown Municipal Court.

Democrat Sarah Brown-Clark who has served as clerk of the city court over criminal, civil and traffic cases since 2000, is being challenged by Independent Dario Hunter, who has served on the Youngstown Board of Education since 2016.

As has been the standard of The Vindicator Editorial Board in other races in this election year and others, an incumbent who has gained valuable experience in office usually gets a leg up over his or her challengers, unless the opponent clearly shows stronger credentials or incontrovertible evidence of poor or lacking performance on the part of the incumbent.

Hunter provides neither.

Though the challenger has slung accusations of inefficient operations and lackluster management of the clerk’s office, the criticisms lack the force to stick. In addition, Brown-Clark’s record of growth and progress in the office seals our recommendation for city voters to re-elect her to a fourth six-year term.

Hunter, perhaps best known for his highly visible challenges to city school board leadership and some school district practices, says his legal experience makes him most qualified for the position.

He said he has “the legal education and experience to manage an office that will take its proper place in an effective, efficient judicial system.”

But Hunter also has leveled numerous criticisms of the operations of the clerk of courts office, ranging from lack of easy accessibility, poor staff attendance and inefficient, slow service to the public.

Hunter, however, failed to provide sufficiently strong evidence to make a compelling case for the veteran officeholder’s ouster.

APPLAUSE FOR BROWN-CLARK

Oddly enough, at the same time he’s criticizing the management of the office, he also commends the incumbent herself: “Sarah Brown-Clark has served for 17 years. She deserves to be applauded.”

We couldn’t agree more.

In her three terms in office, she has guided the clerk of courts operation into the computer era by making online transactions more numerous and more accessible to court users. She has begun preparing for the transition next year into a new and larger courthouse on West Front Street. There, she says she will complete her goals of modernizing the court in her fourth and final term in office.

She has networked with her peers across the state and the nation to bring new efficiencies to the office. She has served as president of the Ohio Association of Municipal Court Clerks, won honors as “Outstanding Clerk of the Year” and today serves on the board of directors of the National Association for Court Managers.

The city of Youngstown is fortunate to have a clerk of courts with the depth of experience and breadth of expertise in court management as Brown-Clark.

We strongly endorse her re-election.