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Mary Swain

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Mary Swain is a lifelong Butler County resident who attended Madison High School and Middletown Business College. Mary also attended the prestigious Court Management Program and the Court Executive Program, both of which are offered through a partnership between the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Judicial College and the National Center for the State Courts Institute for Court Management. Mary completed both programs and is officially a Certified Court Manager and Certified Court Executive.

Mary has been married to husband Rick since they were both 19. Rick is employed by CTI Mobilcomm. They have 3 children and 7 grandchildren. Mary most enjoys spending time with her family and working outdoors.

Mary was appointed Butler County Clerk of Courts in January, 2011. In 2012, Mary won election for a full term in office in overwhelming fashion, winning almost every precinct in the county. In 2016 and again in 2020, Mary was retained to the position by the voters having no opposition. In addition, Mary was elected President of the Ohio Clerk of Courts Association for 2022, the first Clerk of Courts from Butler County to hold the position of President.

Prior to becoming Clerk, Mary served 22 years in the General Division of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, rising to the position of Manager of Court Administration. Additionally, Mary has served as a Board Member for the Butler County Board of Elections, as President of the Butler County Automatic Data Processing Board, is an Associate Member of the Fraternal Order of Police, and a member of the NRA. Mary also serves on the Advisory Board of LifeSpan, and on the Board of New Life Mission.

Mary is a strong conservative Republican, having served as a State Central Committee Representative, County Republican Party Central Committee Chair, County Republican Party Regional Chair, as well as a long serving Central Committee Member. Along with these prominent roles in the Republican Party, she has served in various offices, such as former President of the Middletown Area Republican Club and President of the Butler County Young Republicans.  

Mary Swain’s record as Clerk backs up her conservative beliefs. Since being appointed Clerk, the office has returned millions of dollars to the general fund; implemented virtual storage to insure security of court documents; upgraded the Clerk’s website; initiated an Electronic Filing system to better serve the constituents of Butler County; cross trained staff for a stronger office and better customer service; moved and upgraded the West Chester and Hamilton title offices to better serve the public; and was one of the first county offices to implement merit-based performance raises. Those are just some of the highlights of Mary’s tenure as Clerk, and as she is fond of saying, “I’m just getting started.”

“We have come a long way in implementing conservative financial principals, and in making our office very customer-service based,” Mary says. “But we are always looking at ways to improve. We listen to the public, watch the budget very closely, and are constantly searching for new technology that can streamline office procedures but still protects the records. I am pleased with our progress, but still believe that the best is yet to come.”