Hunnicutt enters crim ct clerk race

Hunnicutt turned in his petition Thursday

Jason Hunnicutt, a prosecutor in the District Attorney General’s Office, picked up his petition to run for the criminal court clerk seat on Wednesday, and then returned it just 40 minutes before Thursday’s noon deadline.

“It happened so fast,” he said, referring to incumbent Joy McCroskey’s decision on Tuesday not to seek re-election and his plans to jump into the contest.

“I’ve worked with the criminal court cler’s office every day for 12 years and there’s some good people in there but there are some things that need changing,” he said.

Hunnicutt added that he will appoint a campaign treasurer next week and then start raising money.

He didn’t want to go into details Thursday but said the clerk’s office “needs better oversight and more training.”

He also said he’d like to “modernize” it, and noted that its computer systems could use an upgrade to keep track of fines.

Hunnicutt will face Commissioner Mike Hammond and local attorney Steve Williams in the May Republican primary. The general election is set for August, but no Democrats filed to run for the seat.