Ondash announces bid to be on Democratic ticket for Greene County Prothonotary race
Paul Ondash, first deputy prothonotary and lifelong resident of Greene County, announced his candidacy for prothonotary on the Democratic ticket.
Ondash said his experience with the local legal community and relationships fostered within it over the past eight years makes him the best choice for a smooth transition following Susan K. White’s retirement from the office.
“While serving as first deputy over the past three years, I have been Susan’s second in command and acted in her stead when she was unavailable,” he said. “This means I am familiar with every aspect of the office and can hit the ground running if elected.”
Ondash worked as an administrative assistant for Judge Jeffry N. Grimes in his private practice and then accepted a part-time administrative-assistant position in the prothonotary’s office in 2018.
Work ethic and various ideas for office improvements led him to being a full-time administrative assistant and passport agent, then family-court coordinator and finally first deputy/passport facility manager.
“My experience in both public and private areas of the law has given me the unique perspective of being able to see how the entire legal process plays out, which has helped me to improve or streamline various procedures to best serve the community,” he said, adding that he created digital versions of all forms previously typewritten, recognized the importance of digitizing records and helped make records available online.
If elected, Ondash said he plans to continue to make operations in the office smoother and easier for both the legal community and pro se litigants by coordinating with other county departments and resources to make sure that they are working together effectively to best assist Greene County citizens, who oftentimes enter the office during some of the most difficult periods of their lives due to divorce, custody or abuse matters.
He said he wants them to feel like their issues are properly heard and addressed while having every resource available to efficiently navigate their legal issues.
Ondash grew up in the Clarksville area, graduated from Jefferson-Morgan in 2003 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in English at California University of Pennsylvania.
He lives in Carmichaels with his girlfriend, Andrea.