Election 2024: Faith Andrews faces Carl DiFranco for Lake County Clerk of Courts GOP nomination

William Tilton, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·2 min read

Mar. 6—Lake County Clerk of Courts Faith Andrews is seeking the Republican nomination to be re-elected to the position, facing challenger Carl DiFranco in the March 19 primary election.

The winner will face Democratic nominee Beth Knezevich in November.

There are 162,494 registered voters eligible to vote in the primary.

Here are some of the answers the candidates provided in response to questionnaires sent to them by The News-Herald:

Faith Andrews

Andrews said if elected she will focus on working on excess funds, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and driver's exams and redaction protection for civil stalking victims.

"I would continue my work with the Ohio Clerk of Courts Association on the Excess Funds Subcommittee to explore possible changes in the law relative to the notification process to add 21st century options such as email and posting on the Clerk's website and social media channels," Andrews stated. "We are also exploring the possibility of making clerk processes for property tax foreclosures and bank foreclosures the same."

"The Ohio Revised Code was changed in 2023 to enable the Clerk of Courts to become a deputy registrar and manage the BMV as well as the Title Bureau," she added. "I have begun the discovery process relative to that opportunity so that may bring to the BMV the same level of stellar customer service folks experience at my Title Bureaus."

Andrew stressed that the Ohio Revised Code is the law and not merely guidelines and will continue to follow that belief if elected again.

"I will continue to ensure that both divisions of the Clerk's Office follow the law," Andrews said. "There was no cross-training of employees for continuity of operations, no standard operating procedures, no employee handbook, no job descriptions, and most employees had never had a performance appraisal. I brought together a new management team by hiring from the private sector and by promotion of existing staff."

Carl DiFranco

DiFranco said he wants to improve the environment of employees in the Clerk of Courts office.

"A hostile work environment has caused filing deadlines to be missed by the office and created repeated issues for the courts," DiFranco said. "Second, I would improve the working relationship with the judges. Presently there are separate, redundant IT services and staff. This is inefficient and a waste of taxpayer monies. I would eliminate the separate website services. I would expand title services. It is those services that allow the clerk to remit excess funds to county projects."

As for moving forward, DiFranco said the current atmosphere and make-up of the Clerk's office has to be addressed.

"Change is beyond critical," DiFranco said. "As a former judge and practicing attorney, I know exactly how to manage the office and work processes. Professionalism must be restored."