{"age":49,"biography":"Vince Dean (born January 7, 1959) is a Republican politician from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from April 6, 2006, to August 31, 2014 [1]. He represented District 30 and previously held the position of State House Majority Floor Leader [1]. Dean was first elected during a special election in April 2006 and was re-elected in 2008, 2010, and 2012 [1]. During his legislative tenure, he served on several committees, including Transportation, where he chaired the committee in 2013-2014 and served as vice chair in previous sessions [1]. He also served on the Calendar and Rules, Local Government, Ethics, State & Local Government, Health & Human Resources, and TACIR committees [1]. Dean resigned from the state House in August 2014 after being elected Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk [1]. He was succeeded in the state legislature by Marc Gravitt [1].\n\nBefore his election to the state House, Dean served as a retired police officer for the Chattanooga Police Department starting in 1979 and as the mayor of East Ridge, Tennessee [10]. He also served three terms on the East Ridge City Council [4]. His educational background includes graduation from Baylor High School and attendance at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Cleveland State University [1]. Dean is a Baptist and was adopted by a Baptist minister at age three [10].\n\nDean has held the office of Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk since 2014, when he defeated incumbent Gwen Tidwell [10]. The clerk serves as the keeper of records for Hamilton County's Criminal Courts, overseeing three divisions: General Sessions Courts, Delinquent Collections, and Criminal Courts [2]. The office employs 58 deputy clerks and manages a budget that Dean states generates approximately $6 million annually in collected fines and costs against a $5 million operating budget [10]. During his tenure, Dean has established one-stop payment and expungement centers and released a mobile app for the office [10]. He is currently seeking a fourth term as clerk in the 2026 Republican primary, facing challenger Archie Currence [10].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Vince Dean - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Vince_Dean)\n- [2] [Vince Dean, Criminal Court Clerk, Hamilton County Government](https://www.hamiltontn.gov/CriminalCourtClerk.aspx)\n- [4] [Rep. Vince Dean - Tennessee General Assembly](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/archives/106GA/members/h30.html)\n- [5] [sample ballot](https://elect.hamiltontn.gov/Portals/12/HTML/RepSample.html)\n- [6] [Rep. Vince Dean - Representatives - TN General Assembly](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/archives/107GA/members/h30.html)\n- [7] [Candidate Lists | Tennessee Secretary of State](https://sos.tn.gov/elections/2026-candidate-lists)\n- [8] [Vince Dean - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Dean)\n- [9] [Vince Dean - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Dean)\n- [10] [Vince Dean seeks fourth term as Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/apr/14/vince-dean-seeks-fourth-term-as-hamilton-county/)\n- [11] [Free Press Opinion: Reelect Vince Dean as Criminal Court clerk | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/apr/13/free-press-opinion-reelect-vince-dean-as-criminal/)\n- [12] [Dean seeks new term as Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/dec/11/dean-seeks-new-term-as-hamilton-county-criminal/)","birthdate":"Tue, 05 Apr 1977 00:00:00 GMT","campaigns":[{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"Criminal Court Clerk"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Vince","fullname":"Vince Dean","lastname":"Dean","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","contest_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":"hamilton","cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"R","primary":{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","contest_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026},{"general":null,"party":null,"primary":null,"term":{"county":"hamilton","electiondate":"2022-08-04","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":null,"state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"},"year":2022}],"office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","state":"TN","terms":[{"county":"hamilton","electiondate":"2022-08-04","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":null,"state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"}]}],"summary":"Vince Dean is a former Tennessee state representative and incumbent Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk seeking re-election in the 2026 Republican primary.","terms":[{"county":"hamilton","electiondate":"2022-08-04","office":"criminal_court_clerk","state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01","title":"Criminal Court Clerk"}],"token":"8DPwmSkYOI"}