Volusia clerk of court says Republican primary opponent lacks understanding of the job

Volusia County Clerk of Court Laura Roth will face an election challenge for the first time since she won her seat in 2016 from two twenty-something political newcomers.

Roth, 54, faces a challenge from fellow Republican John Flemm, 22, in the primary on Aug. 20 . The winner of that contest will face unknown Democrat Mackenzie Quinn, 22, in the Nov. 5 general election.

Flemm did not respond to emailed questions and also declined a phone interview with the News-Journal. As for Quinn, the paper was unable to find a campaign website or any social media for her campaign as of July 16.

Quinn's filing was nonetheless significant. Had she not filed, it would have been a primary contest between Roth and Flemm open to all voters regardless of party affiliation.

Roth criticizes Flemm's campaign messages

Roth says Flemm has shown through his campaign messaging that he doesn't understand the requirements of the position. For example, in a Facebook post on his campaign page Flemm said he would "defend" gun rights and help restore gun rights to citizens.

Roth said the clerk's office is a neutral record holder that provides forms for people to apply to get their guns back if they are taken away. "It's inappropriate to go further than that," she said.

Flemm responded to the criticisms via text message. He said that he and his team collaborated with former clerk's office employees, including former department heads, to craft his platform.

"The fact that most residents don't know their resources is a large part of the reason we are running," he wrote.

What does the clerk do?

The Volusia County Clerk of Courts is responsible for a long list of duties.

Here's a short but not comprehensive list from the clerk's website: The clerk is responsible for "recording property transactions, attending and supporting all court proceedings, maintaining official court records and providing access to those records as permitted by law, assisting victims of domestic abuse, processing child support payments, collecting court fees and fines, administering court-ordered sales, and processing marriage and passport applications."

The job includes managing "millions of public records" and "millions of dollars of public money," and her office makes records available online for public viewing.

Roth has been the clerk since 2016

Roth was first elected as the clerk in 2016. She began working as the office's first in-house legal counsel in 2004 and was appointed chief deputy clerk in 2011. She grew up in a military family and moved to Volusia around 20 years ago after finishing law school. She lives in DeLand with her husband, Doug, and has two stepchildren.

She earned $174,596 in 2023 ― clerk salaries are set by law.

She is the vice chair of the executive committee of the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation, which sets the court-related budget for the 67 county clerks across the state.

Roth's office and clerks around the state had to grapple with limited funding, and only in recent years have they seen more revenue coming back to them from the courtside operations from the fines and fees that they collect. Their budgets are based on those sources of revenue and the process by which resources are divvied up among other clerk's offices around the state.

An effect of the cuts was a large number of positions cut and collapsed in Volusia County, with fewer people doing the work of more staffers, Roth said. Roth lists as one of her accomplishments as keeping the office running through financial challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We've been through what's almost like catastrophic funding failures," Roth said.

The office is still in recovery mode, Roth said. The office has 242 employees but would need about 260 to be fully staffed under current programs and services, according to Roth.

Roth seeks to enhance services as funding improves

Roth said her top priorities include improving processing speed and staying focused on public service. That includes enhancing training and equipment and hiring more people as funding allows to get to sufficient staffing.

Roth is also prioritizing technological advancements.

She has an IT team to address the unique needs of the clerk's office, she said. One project her team is working on includes auto-case creation for civil cases to speed up processing time.

Roth lists among her accomplishments and that of the office during her tenure:

• Being named Clerk of the Year in 2021 by the Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers Association.
• Launching the Property Fraud Alert, which is a "free service to alert property owners to recordings potentially affecting their real property."
• Speeding up processing times for documents, including getting them available faster for the public to view online.
• Creating "a historical records room with expert trained staff available to assist with historical records research."
• Leading the “Marsy’s Law Quick Response Team” for the Florida Court Clerks Association and "successfully advocating for Florida Clerks authority to protect victim information in court files."

Roth said the learning curve would be steep for someone coming in without experience.

"This is daily, your whole heart, your whole time because it is large. It's complex. It's challenging," Roth said.

John Flemm lists 'responsible spending, technology innovations' among top priorities

Flemm's website and Facebook page emphasize politics and his support for former President Donald Trump. He displays an image of himself parading on a boat with a "MAGA 2024" on the side.

It isn't clear how long Flemm has lived in Volusia County. He received a Volusia County license in January for his marriage to Mark Rudman, who was born in Russia.

Flemm, 22, of DeBary, lists among his priorities "transparency, efficiency, and service."

"He is committed to ensuring equal access to justice, responsible spending, technology innovations, and exceptional constituent service to improve the lives of Volusia County residents," according to his campaign.

He wants to engage the public more in understanding the clerk's role and the resources the office has to offer.

He describes himself as a lifelong Floridian who was born in Daytona Beach and was then adopted. He also describes himself as a small business owner ― with no details about the business ― and a conservative nonprofit board member.

Flemm's background includes working as a page in the Florida House and a messenger in the Florida Senate. He also worked at the Conservative Partnership Institute in Washington, D.C., according to his website.

He says he plans to "slash job-killing regulations" but doesn't specify what he would change. And he promises to "end wasteful government spending" but doesn't list what he would cut.

Flemm's platform includes enhancing security that protects confidential information in records.

Flemm plans to create "a new Office of Juvenile Mental Health within the Mental Health Department to increase protections for minors and to combat the dramatic rise in youth mental health problems." He also wants to promote "delinquency prevention and early intervention" in crime, according to his campaign website.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia clerk of court says Republican primary opponent lacks understanding of the job