2 running for Warren County clerk of courts

After two decades of running unopposed, Warren County Clerk of Courts Jim Spaeth is in a race with Michael Gilb, a former state lawmaker and former appointed judge in the common pleas court.

The race is the only contested race in Warren County.

“To me this position is more than a job. It is a sacred trust to promote conservative candidates and values,” Gilb, 60, said earlier this week.

“The office runs well. I think the position is more than that,” he added. “This is a campaign between conservative and moderate Republicans. How do we move forward as party?”

Spaeth said he was just as principled a conservative as Gilb and attributed the difference in the race to a split between the more mainstream GOP leadership and members to whom the abortion issue is central.

“That’s how a lot of candidates play these days,” Spaeth, 71, said. “You either walk in lockstep with the fringes or you’re left out.”

Spaeth, a former four-term Deerfield Twp. trustee, has held the Clerk of Court’s office since 1996.

The son of Les Spaeth, former county auditor and longtime Warren County Republican Party chief, Spaeth won a three-way primary race in the March 7, 1996 primary and was unopposed in that year’s November general election for the office left open by the retirement of Paul Harrison, a Republican.

Gilb, elected by 53 votes to the fourth and final seat open on the Mason City Council in the November 2017 election, is the first one to challenge Spaeth’s reelection as

Michael Gilb clerk.

Gilb said he was a supporter of term limits. He said six terms were one too many for the clerk of courts, who oversee title offices, as well as the clerk’s office in the county, probate, adult and juvenile common-pleas courts.

“I think new people should come with new ideas,” he said, suggesting Spaeth should take advantage of his retirement benefits.

The Warren County Clerk of Courts is to be paid $118,743 in 2021.

Unlike Gilb, Spaeth said he would continue to treat the elected office as a fulltime job.

“I’m a full-time clerk. I’m not so sure a practicing attorney is going to do that,” Spaeth said.

Gilb said he planned to

Jim Spaeth continue practicing law.

“I certainly would put in the time and effort needed to make sure the office is working efficiently and effectively,” he added.

If elected, Gilb promised to complete modernization of the court system that has been ongoing for more than decade.

“We should already be there,” the challenger said.

Spaeth said modernization of the court systems was nearly complete, including on-line filing for lawyers.

“The last piece has been going slower than I wanted,” he said, predicting the work would be completed “before a new term for a clerk starts.”

While slow on the modernization, Spaeth he had been working for decades to reduce “red tape” and bureaucracy in the office.

Spaeth said he was endorsed by every countywide elected officials, except Commissioner Tom Grossmann. He also counted Sen. Rob Portman as a supporter.

Gilb identified no specific supporters, only Right to Life members, “conservatives and conservative organizations.”

If reelected, Spaeth pledged to continue to to oversee efficient operations.

“I think we do a good job in this office,” he said. “I’m happy to put my name out there again.”

The race was down to two candidates after the withdrawal of Lauren Clouse, a lawyer from the Franklin area.

Party leaders indicated Clouse and Gilb could have split the Right to Life vote, possibly throwing the race to Spaeth.