Incumbent Republican Mike Foley, who faces felony and misdemeanor charges related to campaign and other activity, is challenged by Democrat Lynn Cooper. Both candidates shared with Dayton Daily News why voters should consider them this fall.
Mike Foley
Foley said he wants to continue the work he’s doing as clerk of courts and believes the state’s investigation against him is “politically motivated.”
“I feel confident that once all the facts are presented, that I will be vindicated of all charges and look forward to continuing the great work in the clerk of courts office,” the incumbent said.
Foley was first elected to the clerk of courts office in 2018. Since then, his office has rolled out 10 non-mandated services. This includes TSA pre-check, the Help Center, court text notifications, passport services and more.
“I want to be known as the Convenience Clerk,” Foley said. “In the eight locations of the clerk of courts office, we try very hard to listen to the customer and be cognizant of their time. Our goal is to make the customers’ journey and experience as pleasant as possible every time. We want to make our customer interaction as smooth as possible.”
Foley also recently returned $2 million in surplus to the county — money his office generated partly through fees collected for the additional, non-required services. A total of $1 million of this money is set aside for the courthouse renovation project.
His office has returned $10 million in surplus to the county’s general fund since his start in office, he said.
Foley was indicted by a grand jury in July on a dozen counts related to alleged public corruption. Charges came after an Ohio Auditor of State investigation, which included the 2022 raid of Foley’s office.
An indictment is merely a set of allegations, and people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Foley has maintained his innocence since his indictment and pleaded not guilty to all charges in August.
Republican leaders called on Foley to step down from his office following his indictment. A three-judge panel selected by the Ohio Supreme Court ruled against suspending him from office — an act permissible under Ohio law.
Foley said that despite feeling unsupported by his political party, he wants to continue his work at the Clerk of Courts office.
“It’s not about me. It’s about the people we serve,” he said. “I stand on my record. I stand on my vision of this office and its impact on our three divisions. I stand on the thousands of happy customers who have had pleasant encounters.”
He has also called the investigation against him “one-sided” and said he was never interviewed by state investigators.
Foley is a graduate of Ohio State University and lives in Oakwood with his wife Lisa. Before becoming clerk of courts, he was a medic in the U.S. Army, a deputy registrar and a small business owner.
Lynn Cooper
Cooper, a Democrat, began her career in public service at the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts roughly 23 years ago. Now, she wants to return as the office’s leader.
She said she felt specifically called to run for office when the Montgomery County Clerk of Court’s Office was raided in 2022.
“The clerk of courts office touches so many lives,” she said. “And I want to be a leader who has integrity. A leader you can trust.”
Cooper first began working as a part-time deputy clerk for the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts in 2001, a few years after moving from Minnesota to Riverside in Montgomery County. While at the clerk’s office, she’s served in roles like the supervisor of the legal department’s civil division and chief deputy of the legal division.
Cooper has also worked as the court management project coordinator for the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court — where she said she worked with the clerk’s team to develop Ohio’s first fully integrated e-filing system — and the chief deputy at the Montgomery County Treasurer’s Office.
In 2021, she began working as the court administrator and chief deputy of the probate division at the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. At this job, she has helped create the Probate Resource Center and has worked with law enforcement and technology staff at the court to create ways to flag officers to calls that involve people who have histories of mental health challenges.
Her experience working for both the executive and judicial branches of government gives her a special perspective, Cooper said.
She describes herself as a nurturing leader who wants to see her workers tap into their full potential. If elected, she said one of her priorities would be to work with existing clerk’s office staff to engage the team and build trust.
Cooper said she wants to analyze the clerk’s office budget to see what services and positions are necessary and beneficial to the public. She said she also wants to work with other county clerks to see what services or programs have benefitted their communities and reimagine the Help Center.
“The clerk’s office has two mandated services — keeping the court’s records and issuing auto titles,” she said. “It’s critical that mandated services are resourced properly. Then we can focus on non-mandated services that are important to the community.”
Cooper is the mother of three children. She holds degrees in organizational management and public administration from Wilberforce University and Central Michigan University, respectively.
In her free time, she likes to spend time with family or friends and attend St. Peter Baptist Church House of Restoration.
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