On the Nov. 4 ballot, Licking County voters will have the chance to vote in the election of the Licking County Municipal Clerk of Courts position.
The Municipal Clerk of Courts is responsible for any court duties that are beyond trying cases: managing case files, updating technology and generally overseeing the administration and efficiency of the Licking County courts.
Current Clerk of Courts Marcia Phelps – who has served as clerk for the past 18 years – has previously described the role as “laying out the protocol on how a new law affects a case’s management.”
Running to represent Licking County are Newark resident and State Central Committeewoman Carrie Masterson, and Hebron resident and retired Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Highway Management Administrator Rick Williams.
Carrie Masterson:
Masterson holds an associate’s degree in court reporting from Plaza College, formerly Bliss Business College, in Columbus, and has served as district director for the Ohio Court Reporters Association, and as the Ohio Republican State Central Committee woman for District 20, covering Licking, Fairfield and Perry counties.
Masterson began as a legal secretary for then-attorney Tom Marcelain, who has now served as judge of the Licking County Common Pleas Court for 22 years, and served before that for 13 years as judge of the Licking County Municipal Court.
Masterson then accepted a position to work with Marcelain as he served as the Licking County Municipal Court judge before he moved to the Common Pleas Court in 2003. She then moved over to the Licking County Common Pleas Court as a court reporter for Judge Gregory Frost.
“I thought it seemed like the perfect fit for me since I had already worked in Municipal Court years ago as a court reporter,” Masterson said. “I have kept a lot of relationships with the different judges and agencies involved with the clerk of courts…I enjoyed working there, and thought, well, shoot, I’ll run for it.”
Much of Masterson’s focus for the position relies on providing proper access to efficient streamlined daily court proceedings for the public, like 24/7 online document filing and stamping. Masterson believes technology advantages will help in solving storage and record management issues by consolidating physical documents.
Funding was allocated for Ohio appeals, common pleas, municipal and county courts in June 2024 to update their digital case management, operate remote hearings and modernize hardware and software for case filings. Licking County is working to adapt a new digital filing system.
“I’m looking forward to being involved in the whole process of switching the court over on a different court system,” she said. “It’s been in the process and hasn’t been able to be switched yet…if it’s not switched over by the time I would take office: that’s going to fall on my shoulders as well.”
Rick Williams:
Williams worked for ODOT for 30 years. He was a supervisor for 22 years in Licking and Perry counties, where he was promoted to highway management administrator overseeing seven counties with 275 employees and a $150 million annual budget. He was in the construction department and was responsible for highways, bridges, culverts, guard rails and pavement in Licking County before retiring.
“I’ve always been a supervisor or an administrator. I’ve always supervised people. I’ve always worked with the public, working for the state of Ohio. I love working with the public,” Williams said. “I know that in this position, you’ll work with law enforcement agencies, you’ll work with attorneys and then also judges on making sure that everything’s set up properly, making sure that all the fines, bonds, are collected. I want to serve the people of Licking County.”
Williams was born and raised in Licking County. He started in kindergarten in Granville, then moved to Heath, where he went to grade school. He later attended the Ohio State University and earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering.
Williams’ platform centers on efficiency in the Courthouse, specifically working to ensure no backlogs in document management and guaranteeing proper payment of fines and bonds.
“I know I’ll also be working with judges on that, because they’ll make sure that their bonds are going to be released or forfeited, depending on whether they made a trial. So that’s going to be very important, just making sure that everything’s fluid in the courthouse. I want to make sure that everything flows smoothly.”
Williams believes that the mix of his personal experience coaching softball for 14 years in the Lakewood Local School District, dedication to his church, community service efforts and past experience working in the state government guide him to creating a smooth, efficient and non-partisan approach to the position.
“This is a non-partisan race: There’s no ‘D.’ There’s no ‘R.’ There are just two names on a ballot,” Williams said.
Election Day is Nov. 4. Early voting is available at the election board office. Here are the hours:
Monday, Oct. 27: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 28: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 29 through Friday, Oct. 31: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 1: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 2: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Tyler Thompson writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.