John DOBSON

Born here, raised here, and ready to serve here.  Well, I did live in Durham, NC for some of my teenage years, but don’t hold that against me, I’m not a Duke fan!

Hello Fayette County!  My name is John B. Dobson.  I am running for the Office of Circuit Court Clerk, and my name is #1 on the ballot.  This is a Democratic Primary Election, and the voting date is May 22, 2018.

Circuit Court Clerks have the awesome responsibility for overseeing the management of all Circuit and District court records.  This includes all paper and electronic filings that come into that office. Circuit Court Clerks’ also oversee the issuing of driver’s licenses for the county as well.  

I have a unique background in the court system that positions me to serve you well.  My career began as a co-op student while attending EKU, over 22 years ago.  Go Colonels!  I have held various positions at the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), ranging from a statewide Pretrial Officer, Supervisor, General Manager of Court Services, sworn Records Officer (listed with KDLA), and, in my last position, Application Services Manager aka Software Development Manager, overseeing a team of 31 software developers, database administrators, and report writers.

Working at the AOC, I was able to take a statewide view on different circuit court clerk operations, and assess those processes that worked, and those that needed some tweaking.  My major contributions to the state, over my twenty-two years of service, was in technology.  

 

I developed the first web-based CourtNet system, that went on to serve not only internal staff, but also law enforcement, via their KYOps systems.  Later, a scaled-down version became available to the general public, for tracking pending cases, along with integration into the Victims Information & Networking Everyday (VINE) system.  VINE is a system that was developed to keep victims of domestic violence informed, and safe, through timely court-event notifications.  

My last major projects at the AOC, while serving in the role of Application Services Manager, consisted of the following projects: statewide eFiling, CourtNet 2.0 and KyCourts 3 (which is now in pilot for Trimble County).  As Chief Justice Minton stated, before to Kentucky Legislators, the current system needed major upgrades.  I was part of the leadership team that drove the technology and business decisions behind those upgrades.

My focus will continue to be on driving Fayette County to the top in technological advances.  But, I will not just talk the talk, as I have the skill set to walk the walk.  

In my first full year of office, I plan to push quite a few agenda items.  Below is a brief synopsis,  but please visit the platform are of this website for more details.

First, I will engage all staff members in earnest discussion of all current processes.  After careful analysis of the information gathered, I will create a detailed plan to start addressing any inefficiencies that can be overcome with technological advancements.

Second, I will have increased conversations with the AOC about plans to expedite rollout of the eFiling system, beyond use by attorneys only.  I will be a big advocate for making the court system easier to navigate by self-representing litigants.

Third, I will work with the AOC to advance our notification system used by the Jury Management system.  Jurors are critical to the success of a fair and impartial judicial system, and we need to make serving as convenient as possible.  I will work to ensure that any, and all notification systems, have been vetted and implemented, as quickly as possible.

The final agenda item will be my most challenging. I will engage the Chief Justice, AOC Director, and AOC Budget Director, in dialogue about enhancing deputy clerk salaries.  My approach will be similar to what I was able to accomplish with the software development staff.  We were able to take vacant positions, and combine with other positions, to create a higher-salaried position.  The Chief Justice has expressed this to the legislators on numerous occasions, fair pay amongst the branches of government, but those requests fell on deaf ears.  When clerks transition out, depending on the duties, I will freeze that position, and seek permission from the AOC to create new Senior Deputy Clerk positions. This will allow me to merge the salary from a frozen position, with that of a normal clerk position.  By doing so, we can accomplish higher salaries, and increase the depth of the deputy clerk position by introducing a new career ladder for our long-term staff.

A little more about my background.  I’ve worked at Keeneland shoveling manure, as a garbage collector via temp services, and as a laborer in local tobacco fields. I mention these to you, to let you know that I’ve come up through the ranks.  I am a proud graduate of Henry Clay High School. I obtained a Police Administration degree with a minor in Computer Information Systems from Eastern Kentucky University, and rounded out my education with a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Kentucky.

I am capable, willing, and ready to serve.  

 

Thank you Fayette County!  Let’s make history together!

 

Campaign contact information below:
 

• www.votedobson.com

• www.facebook.com/votedobson

• www.twitter.com/votedobson

• votedobson@gmail.com (email)

• 859.813.0734 (text enabled)

 

Send a text message of “follow @votedobson” to 40404 for campaign text message updates.