Katie Reed, Napoleon Rodgers Jr. running for Summit County clerk of courts in GOP primary

Registered Republicans will have the choice of who they want to appear on the fall ballot in the Summit County clerk of courts race.

Napoleon Rodgers Jr. and Katie Reed both hope to bring a fresh perspective to the administrative role that was vacated last year when the former clerk was elected as the Akron Municipal Court clerk.

The winner of the GOP race will go on to face the Democrat Tavia Galonski, who was appointed as the county clerk in early January.

What is the clerk of courts?

The clerk's office is divided into two divisions: legal and title.

The legal side maintains and preserves records, including case files and calendars, for each court while the title division issues title certificates for watercraft and motor vehicle owners, according to the Summit County Clerk of Courts website.

The clerk oversees and manages this office and the staff that carries out these tasks.

Katie Reed, 35-year-old Barberton clerk of courts

Reed, 35, of Green is the current clerk at Barberton Municipal Court. She had about four years of municipal court experience before she was appointed to the clerk role in July 2023

Before moving into court administration, she raised her two young kids alongside her husband while running campaigns across the state, including one for Judge Jennifer Hensal of the Ninth District Court of Appeals.

In 2019, she became a bailiff at Akron Municipal Court, she said. Six months later, COVID-19 struck alongside a job offer.

"The previous Barberton Clerk of Courts of 12 years contacted me to be her chief deputy," Reed said. "She took me under her wing and taught me everything I knew."

In the three years that followed, Reed learned and began taking on more responsibilities, including the hiring of staff members and budgeting.

"It is about being able to get a team that works together to work with the public and help have what they need when they walk out of the courthouse," Reed said.

If elected on the county level, she hopes to increase access to resources while improving communication between the courts and the clerk's office.

"I love what I do," Reed said. "I love the interactions with the public and being able to help."

Napoleon Rodgers, 52 of Akron

Rodgers, 52, of Akron and a Howard University graduate, cares for two people living with disabilities, one with autism and another who is developmentally delayed, he said.

His experience as a caretaker, time in the Navy reserve and his own experience in domestic court, he said, influenced his decision to run to be the next county clerk of courts.

"I want to teach people how to avoid the court system by teaching them about its resources and the consequences of their actions," Rodgers said. "People don't know what the consequences of their actions are until they are in jail."

At the same time, he wants to push for community policing by increasing cooperation between law enforcement and community leaders to hold people who commit violent crimes accountable.

If elected, Rodgers would like to lobby for an emergency overnight shelter for men.

"Where is there to go for men when they are in a bad situation?" he asked. "All they need is a bed to stay out of trouble, because that's my job, to keep you out of the court system."

Rodgers said his personal experience in the Summit County Domestic Relations Court was difficult.

He said his goal would be to teach the courts how to have empathy when dealing with those entering the system and those with little to no experience with that system.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Who is running for Summit County clerk of courts?