Kettering court clerk race gives voters choices for 1st time in 18 years

Dever, a Centerville Democrat, is challenging Scott, a Kettering Republican seeking election to the seat he was appointed to by his party in January

Both candidates’ petitions have been certified for the November ballot. Independent candidates have until early May to file their signatures, although none have pulled petitions for the race, board of elections records showed this week

November’s winner will be the first newly-elected person to that position since 2003, when Kettering Republican Andrea White beat Democrat Frederick Krumholtz. White ran unopposed for six-year terms in 2009 and 2015, records show.

Scott replaced White when she stepped down after winning election to the Ohio House of Representatives in the 41st District last November.

Dever, 32, has never sought election to public office. She runs Schreiber Law Office, LLC in Kettering, focusing on immigration, criminal defense, domestic relations and civil cases.

Before opening the practice in 2020, Dever worked for more than two years at Bradley & Associates in downtown Dayton.

A graduate of Duquesne University and the University of Dayton School of Law, said she has lived in the area since 2014 and “I love this community and this jurisdiction.”

Dever said she wants to “help that court become more efficient and more productive.”

“This community and this court mean a lot to me. I am in and out of Kettering on appointed cases,” she said. “They’re some of the nicest, hardest-working people who I’ve ever met.”

Scott, 39, served on Kettering City Council for 10 years - including two years as vice mayor – before his appointment.

He was regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration covering six states.

Scott was Ohio director of the 2016 Trump campaign and the Montgomery County Republican Party chairman. He is a graduate of Wright State University and the UD law school.

Scott said he knows “the importance of the community’s local municipal court and quality customer service required for the public and stakeholders.

“Also, with budgets and resources decreasing, I know the court must do more with less with speed, efficiency, and savings,” he added.

The court has more than 50 years of paper records and “I’m in the process of digitizing all records electronically,” Scott said.