XENIA — A.J. Williams retained his position as Greene County Clerk of Courts, according to official results of the March 17 primary released by the board of elections Tuesday.
By a 10,368 to 9,357 vote, Williams defeated former Beavercreek Township Fiscal Officer Christy Ahrens, who did not seek re-election to that position to run for clerk. Williams will run unopposed in the November general election.
He was originally appointed to the clerk position by the Greene County Commissioners and the Greene County Republican Central Committee when former clerk Terri Mazur retired. He was elected in 2018 to finish the remainder of Mazur’s term.
“I’m happy with the results,” Williams said. “Obviously with Christy, she’s been an elected official in Beavercreek … She’s been on several ballots. She’s got a lot of name recognition and has worked in the clerk’s office previously.”
Now that he’s got a full term ahead of him, Williams said he has “a lot of plans in the clerk’s office.”
Among his goals are updating software, putting documents online, and introducing e-filing.
“The majority of our clients are attorneys,” Williams said. “They’ve been asking for that for the first two years I was appointed.”
Williams said he didn’t want to make major changes as an appointee.
“I didn’t think that would be fair,” he said.
Once the transformation takes place, online accessibility will be very “prevalent,” Williams said.
“It’s just for public service,” he said.
Williams grew up in Beavercreek and graduated from Carroll High School and the University of Dayton. In 2010, he was the Greene County victory captain for the Ohio Republican Party before receiving his master’s degree in public administration from UD.
In 2012, he worked on the presidential campaign, then worked in the secretary of state’s office. Williams also served as chief deputy to Greene County Recorder Eric Sears.
During the campaign, Williams cited some of the changes he was able to implement in a short time.
“Our office has become much more dynamic and transparent,” he said during a candidate’s forum. “We’ve been able to purchase new scanners that have brought our 25-page-a-minute count to 75 pages. Our deputies can work in different divisions — criminal can work in civil, civil can work in domestic relations, and it’s just been great for the whole office.”
At that forum, Williams also talked about the auto title office’s success this year — generating $982,000 in fees and transferring it to the county’s general fund. With the legal division generating about $300,000 per year, Williams said the office brings in more money than it spends. He then said he plans to continue that transfer each year.
