Weakley County Circuit Clerk Candidate Jennifer Killebrew
Jennifer KillebrewA Letter from the Candidate
My name is Jennifer Tharp Killebrew, and I am running for Weakley County Circuit Court Clerk. A lifelong resident of Weakley County, I grew up in Greenfield and loved growing up in such a close-knit community. I found the love of my life just a few miles down on Highway 54, and I now make my home in Dresden with my husband, Adam, and our children, Reed and Liv.
In October 2010, I was hired by former Circuit Court Clerk Pam Belew for the position of bookkeeper and deputy clerk. From the very first week of working in the office, I knew I loved working with the public and county government.
In 2013, after Ms. Belew announced her retirement, I decided to run for the office, and I was elected in August 2014 to the office of Circuit Court Clerk. I had a great vision for the office during my first term. I wanted to locate a company that could process both debit and credit card payments, accept online payments, and initiate a new scanning system to scan court documents. Within my first term, I was able to accomplish all these things. Also, within my first term, I eliminated a duplicate position that saved taxpayers thousands of dollars in salary and benefits. During my first term, my office was a test pilot for e-citations, and we helped the State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Highway Patrol work on this new system. When it was finished that initiative did go statewide.
In August 2018, I was fortunate enough to be re-elected. I continued to work hard for the citizens of Weakley County. During this time, I worked with our current software provider to start a public online record research website. Citizens could log on and check on any record in our two court systems. I collaborated with this same company on merging our old record software into our new software. To date, our computerized records date back to 1997. It was truly an amazing task that took a great deal of man hours but having all records on one system has proven successful. Something else I am immensely proud of during my second term is the relocation of thousands of court records to the Weakley County Archives building. Court records such as files, docket books, and tape recordings must be kept by statue. This is still a work in progress, but I am proud of the work that has been done thus far. Another project I worked with the county on is finding the right company for collection of outstanding fines and court costs. We did find a great company that did not charge us fees upfront, and the county was able to get their money first before the company received their fee.
While in office, I was an active member of the Tennessee State Court Clerks Association. Working with the Association, my knowledge of the court system continued to grow. In 2019, I was named West Tennessee State Court Clerk President and served on the TSCCA Board for four years.
After tragedy and my own personal health scare in late 2020, I decided it was best for me to resign and focus on my family and my health. After leaving the office, I discovered my true life’s passion was serving the public. I loved my job as Circuit Court Clerk, and I deeply missed serving Weakley County. I was able to accomplish numerous tasks and challenges while I was in office, and I want to continue doing just that.
My vision for the Circuit Court’s Office is to continue to maintain and increase collections and revenue for the county, to establish the first Weakley County expungement clinic, to begin the process of starting e-filing, and maintaining training for deputy clerks provided by the Tennessee State Court Clerks Association.
With over 10 years of experience within the Circuit Court Clerk Office-from bookkeeper, to deputy clerk to Circuit Court Clerk, my knowledge and love for our judicial system has only grown.
My family and I humbly ask for your vote in the General Election on August 4, 2022.
