Teacher, clerk employee running for Butler County clerk of courts
A teacher in the Butler Area School District and a clerk in the county clerk of courts office are running in the Nov. 4 election to become the next Butler County Clerk of Courts.
Michael De Nee, a 21-year teacher, is the Democratic candidate, and Tammy D. Thibodeau, a 20-year court clerk, is the Republican candidate running to replace longtime Clerk of Courts Lisa Lotz, who is retiring in January after holding the office for 32 of the 44 years she has worked for the county.
The clerk of courts is elected to four-year terms and serves as the custodian of records for the criminal and juvenile divisions of Butler County Common Pleas Court. The clerk’s current salary is $93,816, according to this year’s budget.
In addition to being the record keeper for Common Pleas Court, the clerk of courts keeps records for the miscellaneous docket for private detectives, constables, extraditions, road dockets, boroughs and townships, and liquor matters.
The criminal division deals with summary, misdemeanor and felony offenses of the vehicle code and crimes code.
De Nee said he has been a teacher in the Butler Area School District for 21 years and is the coordinator of the Emily Brittain School garden. He said he has been a cross-country, track and volleyball coach in the district.
According to De Nee, he was a representative for the teachers’ union and served as chairman of the union’s community outreach committee. Previously, he said he was the guest relations manager at Sandcastle Water Park.
He said he wants to serve the public as a leader.
“I see the position as a public servant in a leadership role,” De Nee said. “I have 25 years of leadership experience in various capacities. Aside from my leadership experience, I believe I can bring modern ideas and a fresh perspective to the clerk of courts office.”
He said he is running to apply his leadership skills in a different capacity. If elected, he said he will work with his team to assess ways to make improvements, streamline operations and ensure all county residents receive responsive support. He said he will be committed to maintaining the integrity of the office and being a trusted steward.
The clerk of courts is the “administrative backbone of the judicial system,” De Nee said. The office is needed for the courts to function smoothly, transparently and fairly, he said. Neutrality and professionalism in the clerk’s office helps maintain the integrity of the court system, he said.
Thibodeau said her legal experience began by working 10 years for attorneys Norman Jaffe and Murray Shapiro followed by five years in the prothonotary’s office and the last 15 years in the clerk of courts office.
“Working in the clerk of courts’ office has afforded me the opportunity to continue to learn and be mentored by our longtime Clerk of Courts Lisa Weiland Lotz,” said Thibodeau. “This allows me to hit the ground running on Day 1 with no lapse in service to the public or disruption in the office.”
While working, she said she has attended all workshops available, state computer training and classes at Butler County Community College to improve her job performance.
“The decision to run for this key, court-related office stems from my love of the court system,” said Thibodeau. “It would be humbling and thrilling to serve the citizens where I was born and raised.”
Complex paperwork in the criminal division must be timely and precisely docketed to make it publicly available on the ujsportal.pacourts.us website, Thibodeau said.
The office’s duties include issuing bench warrants, processing detainers for probation officers and submitting driver license suspensions to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, she said. She said the office issues subpoenas, processes search warrants, attends court hearings and collects exhibits and transcripts from court reporters.
In the juvenile division, she said the office handles dependency case filings for abused and neglected children.
The office collects over $3 million a year in costs, fines and restitution electronically through EPay, by mail and at the counter. The office is audited yearly by the county and the state auditor’s office, she said.
If elected, Thibodeau said her goals include implementing the electronic PAC filing for appeals, which would help reduce the time before a case is heard before Superior Court. PAC filing allows documents to be filed electronically.
Another goal is to work with the court to enable electronic filing to eliminating the need for paperwork to arrive via mail or hand delivery to the office, she said. She also would join the Pennsylvania Prothonotaries and Clerk of Courts’ Association, and would like to serve on the Common Pleas Court Management System Technology Committee for the statewide computer system administered by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
