Court clerk's race Dewey's revenge?

FREMONT — There will be a lot of new faces in the Sandusky County Courthouse in 2021, but the primary race this March for county clerk of courts is between two familiar faces. Incumbent clerk Tracy Overmyer is being challenged by Chris Schneider, who's been common pleas Judge John Dewey's executive assistant for the last 14 years. Dewey is smack in the middle of a hotbed of courthouse dysfunction the last few years, with county Prosecutor Tim Braun pawing female subordinates, sexually harassing them and threatening to send them to prison for fighting back. All the while Dewey, and the court administrator, Brock Kimmet appear to have worked to protect him from exposure. Dewey in June secretly removed the clerk's role in keeping records for Braun's criminal trial and assigned that task to Kimmet, a close friend of Braun's. He ordered Kimmet to keep the court records sealed. Braun also conducted a bogus investigation beginning in April after reporting files from his office stolen. Dewey issued search warrants to Braun so he could get the personal phone records and text messages of the women who complained about Braun's behavior. Read about the 2020 prosecutor's raceThere does not appear to be any legal basis or lawful way for Dewey to have secretly appointed Kimmet and Overmyer asked county commissioners last week to allow her to hire legal counsel to review the ruling. Schneider, of Fremont, said she was never made aware of Dewey's astonishing rulings in the Braun case, and she declined comment about them. She told the Register she "will bring honesty, integrity, harmony and a strong work ethic to the clerk of courts office."She said there were a number of factors that led to her decision to run against Overmyer. "My current job as executive assistant will potentially come to an end as of Jan. 1, 2021. Judge Dewey will no longer be able to run for the seat due to his age. Once a new judge is elected, there is no guarantee that the newly elected judge would hire me to be their executive assistant," she said."With my experience in the court system, I am qualified for the position as clerk of courts and would like to pursue the position to take my experience to the next level." Overmyer took the intra-party challenge in stride."I intend on continuing to run the office as I have since becoming clerk of courts. Based on my 31 years of court experience, I worked my way through the ranks of the clerk's office with starting as a deputy clerk in the county courts, common pleas deputy clerk, supervisor and being chief deputy prior to becoming clerk of courts."Overmyer touted advancements she's been able to achieve in the office's technology while being fiscally responsible with taxpayer money and providing the public full and timely access to all court records.The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Wendy Whittaker in the Nov. 3 General Election. Whittaker, of Clyde, who works in the Erie County clerk of courts office, is the only Democrat to file in the clerk's race.Tracy Overmyer, Sandusky County's clerk of courts. Chris Schneider, Republican primary (March 17, 2019) candidate for Sandusky County Clerk of Courts.