Dayton clerk of courts retires after 30 years

Dayton Municipal Court Clerk Mark Owens will retire at the end of the year after more than three decades in office.

Owens, who is the Montgomery County Democratic Party chairman, announced in February that he decided not to run for reelection this year.

“I am happy with what I have accomplished, but after 30 years it is time for new leadership,” he stated in a release from the city.

Owens was appointed Dayton Municipal Court clerk in January 1991. He successfully ran for his first full term in November 1991. He was reelected in 1997, 2003, 2009 and 2015. He was president of the Ohio Association of Municipal Court Clerks from 1997-99, and was named Clerk of Court of the Year, Ohio in 1999.

As Dayton’s court clerk he oversaw the implementation of two court management systems, took responsibility for the collection of bail for all courts in Montgomery County and created a self-help center for Dayton Municipal Court. Also, under his leadership Dayton was the first municipal clerk’s office in Ohio to be unionized, the release stated.

Marty Gehres was elected the next clerk in the Nov. 2 General Election. He ran uncontested.

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