Franklin County Clerk of Courts

Dispatch County Reporter

Barney was expected to coast to victory. Instead, Tom Lindsey, Barney's chief deputy, was elevated to the clerk's job and became the Republican candidate.

Realizing it had a better chance to capture the office, the county Democratic Party recruited John O'Grady to run for clerk. O'Grady replaced R. Craig Cahill, who stepped aside.

Steven R. Linnabary of the Libertarian Party now is the only candidate who filed a petition in February to run for the office. The job, a four-year term that starts Jan. 1, pays $64,000 a year.

Because of his experience as Barney's chief deputy, Lindsey, 40, says he is in the best position to carry on the reforms she started.

Lindsey of 4740 Strayer Dr. in Hilliard was there when the Republican Party brought Barney in to clean up the office. Clerk of Courts Jesse D. Oddi was indicted in May 1998 and eventually convicted of 49 counts, including theft in office, for embezzling $448,681 from county coffers. Oddi is serving a six-year prison sentence.

I understand how the court system works, and I understand the needs of judges and lawyers,'' Lindsey said. The two years I served as the chief deputy have allowed me to learn all of the functions of the clerk's office.''

The office recently began work on an enhanced computer system that is costing $6.8 million and will give court workers, lawyers and the public access to court documents via the Internet.

People will have the ability to see a file without having to come to the courthouse,'' Lindsey said. Multiple people will be able to view a file at the same time.''

Another benefit of the new computer system is improved auditing that will prevent an embezzlement like Oddi's, Lindsey said.

He also hopes to improve the computer operations for the auto title division. During the past year, Franklin County participated in a test program that allows residents to obtain a county auto title at a state motor-vehicle-license outlet. The two locations are the Ohio Department of Transportation offices on W. Broad Street and Alum Creek Drive.

Though Lindsey paints a positive picture of what has happened in the clerk's office, O'Grady has a different view.

I got into the race because of the way that Republicans have played partisan politics with this office,'' O'Grady said, referring to their giving Lindsey the job.

The citizens of this county deserve better than what they have been given.''

O'Grady, 36, of 96 W. Longview Ave. in Clintonville has not run for countywide public office, but he is well-known in political circles. His father, Pete O'Grady, at one time served as chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.

A partner in Ringside Cafe, located Downtown in Pearl Alley, John O'Grady said he has the practical experience of running and owning a private business. He also worked for nearly 10 years as an administrative assistant to Mary Ellen Withrow when she was state treasurer.

O'Grady said his top priority would be to improve the performance of the clerk's office.

The overall management of the office needs to be addressed,'' he said. I will bring in a chief deputy that has a government finance background that can assist me in focusing on management and management style.''

O'Grady said he would follow through with the $6.8 million upgrade of the clerk's court-management computer system, but a more immediate concern is the performance of the current court computer system. A number of lawyers have complained that they have trouble getting information because the computer is down, O'Grady said.

If elected, he said, he would have someone in the office 24 hours a day to handle criminal cases. People served with a felony indictment should be able to post bail at any time so they don't have to sit in jail, O'Grady said.

It wouldn't cost any more money because it would just involve reshuffling the work hours or time schedules.''

Linnabary, 46, said he has a larger goal in running for clerk of courts.

I want people to know more about the Libertarian Party,'' he said.

As a Libertarian, Linnabary favors cutting government to the absolute basics.

Linnabary, who lives at 2325 Agler Rd. in Mifflin Township, said he chose to run for clerk because of his involvement in the jury-rights movement.

A juror has the right to decide whether a defendant is right or wrong regardless of the law, he said. For instance, jurors might decide that a person who has cancer and uses marijuana to alleviate nausea should not be found guilty of a drug violation.

If he becomes clerk, Linnabary said, he will encourage greater use of the Internet in serving the public.

I would try to make the clerk's office user- friendly,'' he said. People should be able to look stuff up without having to take off work.''