{"county":"hamilton","description":null,"district":"hamilton","districtgroup":"county","id":466,"key":"criminal_court_clerk","lastchangeby":null,"name":"Vince Dean","next_election":null,"notes":null,"officegroup":null,"partisan":0,"party":null,"qualities":"- Maintains records of the Criminal Court (felony trial court). Manages the criminal docket, bond paperwork, and jury orders for criminal trials.\n- Records management for the court served by this clerk's office, in conformity with Tennessee Rules of Civil/Criminal Procedure and the orders of the assigned judges.\n- Working knowledge of the relevant court's docket, fee schedule, and pleading requirements.\n- Financial controls for collecting and disbursing court costs, fines, restitution, bonds, and trust funds \u2014 with public accountability.\n- Supervision of a clerical staff handling high case volume and frequent statutory deadlines.\n- Administrative reliability \u2014 the office's filings are legally binding and its records are evidence.","quantity":1,"source":null,"state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01","term_years":4,"terms":[{"current":1,"description":null,"electiondate":"2022-08-04","name":"Vince Dean","person":{"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/)","firstname":"Vince","lastname":"Dean","token":"8DPwmSkYOI"},"term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"}],"title":"Criminal Court Clerk","type":"executive","url":null,"whenchanged":"2026-04-26 14:43:31"}