Meet the Candidates: Clayton County Attorney

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

Zach Herrmann has spent most of his life in North Carolina, but his Iowa roots run deep. His parents and grandparents were all born and raised in Clayton County. In 2013, the attorney and his wife, Jillian, moved to the area, settling on the family farm.

“When I first moved here, I was in the Neylan Law Office, just down the street,” he said, speaking from his office in downtown Elkader. “[Kathleen Neylan] was really good to me and gave me a lot of opportunities. I learned a lot.”

Not long after his arrival, Herrmann was approached by then-Clayton County Attorney Al Heavens about serving as a special prosecutor handling simple misdemeanors. When the assistant county attorney left in 2016, Herrmann easily slipped into the role.

“I liked doing that job a lot,” said Herrmann, “and I didn’t have any reason to think Al would be leaving his county attorney position. He’d really established himself as an institution in Clayton County since he was elected in 2010.”

In early 2019, though, Heavens was named district court judge, leaving the county attorney position open. The Clayton County Supervisors appointed Herrmann to fill it.

The transition, he said, has been seamless.

“I was working for him those three years before he left, and we’re on the same page a lot when it comes to this office and the court system in general,” Herrmann said.

Although Heavens was just re-elected for another four years in 2018, the appointment is only good until the next general election, which falls this Nov. 3. Herrmann—a republican—is running unopposed to fill the remainder of the term.

“Then I’d have to run again in two years, then after that it’s a four-year position,” he explained.

For Herrmann, there was no hesitancy in continuing as county attorney.

“I love it and think I’ve learned from the best on how to do it,” he said.

As county attorney, which is considered a part-time position, Herrmann has two main responsibilities. One is to prosecute all the crimes in Clayton County and the other is to provide legal advice and guidance to all the different departments of Clayton County.

“I get a lot of people—just Clayton County residents—who think I’m their attorney and they can come in and I do legal work for them. I have the well-being of the residents in mind,” he remarked, “but ultimately it’s the county I represent.”

An assistant county attorney, Anne Kruse, works with Herrmann, handling all juvenile court cases, all simple misdemeanors and all serious misdemeanors that don’t involve meth.

“That’s a division that was made with Al, and I saw no reason to change it, so I do all the meth charges. I also do all the sex abuse charges, and Anne does all the domestic charges regardless of what level they are as far as misdemeanor or felony,” he explained. “We have a great working relationship.”

Although those duties keep Herrmann plenty busy, as a part-time county attorney, he’s still able to handle civil cases, such as wills or marriage dissolutions, on the side. That flexibility is nice, he said, as is the variety the job offers.

“You have the criminal side and you have the civil side, and there’s always these random little things that come up from day to day. They are little puzzles to solve,” he noted. “Late last week there was a question between a resident and the engineering department, so trying to get that resolved so everyone is happy, that was the puzzle to figure out. In the end, we got it. I enjoy that sort of thing.”

Herrmann admitted county attorney isn’t a position that necessarily lends itself to lofty goals. 

“There’s a lot of reacting to issues that arise and dealing with those in an efficient manner,” he said. 

But he does have some key priorities. One is the continuation of the county attorney’s collection program, which he spearheaded under Heavens.

“That did and continues to bring in thousands of dollars of delinquent court debt for the county,” Herrmann said.

He’s also proud of the working relationship between his office, the sheriff’s office, local law enforcement and the county clerk’s office. 

“Everybody communicates really well, and that just makes things so much smoother and keeps things operating at a high level,” Herrmann stated. “That’s a testament to the measures Al had in place, and I’ll certainly try to keep those relationships in place moving forward.”

“Even though I’m not every resident’s attorney,” he added. “I have the betterment of every resident in mind, and it’s nice to work toward that goal of a well-functioning county.”