Lynne Finley

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Lynne Finley

Republican Party

Prior offices

Collin County District Clerk

Successor: Mike Gould

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Elections and appointments

Last election

May 24, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Texas Tech University, 1990

Graduate

Texas Tech University, 1996

Law

South Texas College of Law, 1994

Personal

Birthplace

Arlington, Texas

Religion

Christian

Profession

District clerk

Contact

Campaign website

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Lynne Finley (Republican Party) was the Collin County District Clerk in Texas. She assumed office in 2016. She left office on December 31, 2022.

Finley (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Collin County District Clerk in Texas. She lost in the Republican primary runoff on May 24, 2022.

Finley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Lynne Finley was born in Arlington, Texas. Finley earned a bachelor's degree and a graduate degree from Texas Tech University in 1990 and 1996, respectively, and a J.D. from the South Texas College of Law in 1994. Her career experience includes working as the Collin County District Clerk. Finley has served on the Legislative Committee of the County and District Clerks' Association of Texas (CDCAT) as the committee chairman. She has also served on the advisory board for the Texas Judicial Council Civil Justice Committee.

Elections

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Collin County, Texas (2022)

General election

General election for Collin County District Clerk

Mike Gould defeated David Brignac in the general election for Collin County District Clerk on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Gould (R)	57.8	203,202
		David Brignac (D)	42.2	148,408

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 351,610
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Alyssa Dequeant (D)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Collin County District Clerk

Mike Gould defeated incumbent Lynne Finley in the Republican primary runoff for Collin County District Clerk on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Gould	54.2	19,851
		Lynne Finley	45.8	16,751

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,602
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Collin County District Clerk

Alyssa Dequeant advanced from the Democratic primary for Collin County District Clerk on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alyssa Dequeant	100.0	29,786

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,786
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Collin County District Clerk

Incumbent Lynne Finley and Mike Gould advanced to a runoff. They defeated Debbie Lytle and Laura Trujillo-Jenks in the Republican primary for Collin County District Clerk on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynne Finley	34.0	20,003
✔		Mike Gould	31.8	18,733
	Submit photo	Debbie Lytle	26.8	15,763
	Submit photo	Laura Trujillo-Jenks	7.5	4,394

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 58,893
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

To view Finley's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Collin County, Texas (2018)

General election

General election for Collin County District Clerk

Incumbent Lynne Finley defeated Karmin Kirschner in the general election for Collin County District Clerk on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynne Finley (R)	57.6	194,517
		Karmin Kirschner (D)	42.4	142,932

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 337,449
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Collin County District Clerk

Karmin Kirschner advanced from the Democratic primary for Collin County District Clerk on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karmin Kirschner	100.0	26,028

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 26,028
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Collin County District Clerk

Incumbent Lynne Finley advanced from the Republican primary for Collin County District Clerk on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynne Finley	100.0	42,807

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 42,807
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released February 25, 2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lynne Finley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Finley's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a native Texan with more than 25 years experience as corporate counsel, risk manager and HR manager. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunications, a Master's Degree in Mass Communication, and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence. I am an attorney licensed to practice law in multiple State and Federal jurisdictions. I have had the honor to serve as the Collin County District Clerk for 6 years, during which time I have implemented an online E-Filing System, streamlined the Jury selection process, and implemented a NEMO-Q system that reduced average front counter wait times by over 50%. We are currently working on an online dispute resolution system which we hope to have online within 12 months.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am a licensed attorney with more than 25 years of experience working in the District Court's of Collin County
• I have the education, training and experience to leverage technology to maximize Citizen access to the documents and information under the care, custody and control of the District Clerk, while still maintaining industry best practices security measures to protect against unauthorized access to sealed or protected records, such as juvenile or adoption records.
• I have real world, hands-on experience managing the District Clerk's Office in emergency conditions. During the Covid outbreak, I was able to leverage technology to ensure the uninterrupted ability to provide all of the mission critical services to Collin County Citizens, while protecting the health and safety of the Citizens and County Employees.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Preserving the Rule of Law.

Protecting the Rights of all Citizens from unwarranted Government intrusion.
Equal access to Justice for all Citizens.
Efficient Criminal Magistration.
Maintaining high bond amounts for defendants accused of violent felonies.
Preserving Election integrity.

Providing maximum practical access to documents, records and information without compromising security.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The District Clerk is elected for a four year term and manages most of the business operations for the 13 elected District Courts and 1 Magistrate Court in Collin County that hear Civil, Family and Felony Criminal cases. The office functions with over 70 employees who maintain and manage the records and felony payment plans, over ten million dollars in our court registry, criminal fee, civil/family fee and attorney general fee accounts, bail bond forfeitures and all tax lawsuits. The office also produces a substantial number of court documents including civil citations, criminal warrants, criminal judgments and sentences, and performs other ministerial duties. Currently, the office receives over 17,300 new case files every year.
During the 6 years that I have had the privilege of serving the Citizens of Collin County as their District Clerk, I have come to appreciate the critical importance of the District Clerk's office to the health and welfare of the County.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Personal integrity, full transparency, courage and the ability to quickly and eagerly recognize, admit, and learn from your mistakes.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have integrity and personal courage.

I am not afraid to admit my mistakes and learn from them.
I have excellent people and communication skills.

My empathy helps me to connect with people who are often going through the most difficult periods of their lives, and relate to them in a way that enables them to trust me, and enables me to help them.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities of someone elected as the Collin County District Clerk are: 1. To provide sufficient training and guidance to ensure that the Deputy Clerks have the knowledge, resources, training and support to properly discharge all of the responsibilities of the Office of the District Clerk, while providing excellent customer service to the Citizens. 2. To provide and improve a system to efficiently coordinate the logistics of selecting, notifying and vetting Citizens for jury duty, and 3. To provide and improve a reliable, effective and efficient system for the filing, storage, protection, indexing and retrieval of the millions of documents associated with Civil, Criminal, Juvenile, Probate and Family law cases in Collin County.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like my legacy to be that I made a real, tangible, positive difference in people's lives.
I am honored to have the privilege to serve the Citizens of Collin County as their District Clerk. I am grateful that the Citizens of Collin County have given me the opportunity to experience the joy and satisfaction of being able to make a small but positive difference in the lives of more than a million people.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell.

Every time I read it, I learn something new.

If every voter read that one book before they voted, this Country would thrive and the standard of living would improve for everyone, top to bottom.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Let it go" from Frozen.
Occupational hazard of being a Mom to ten year olds :)

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My twins were born premature at 27 weeks. We lived in the NICU for 3 months. We fought every minute of every day for them.

My babies just turned 10, and they are strong and beautiful.

I give thanks for the struggle, and the strength I was given to weather that storm, every day of my life.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

I consider the training and education of the District Clerk’s employees in the general legal process and in specific Court systems and processes, including E-Filing, criminal collections, timely creation of accurate Bills of Costs following judgments, protective order and TRO procedures and the many other functions performed by the employees of the District Clerk’s office, associated with Criminal, Civil, Juvenile and Family Law cases.

Staff training and education are followed closely in importance by the efficient management of the logistics associated with the selection, notification and vetting of Citizens for Jury service.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Many people are not aware that the District Clerk coordinates the logistics of Jury selection of all of the Court in Collin County, including the District Courts, County Courts at Law, Juvenile and Probate Courts. The District Clerk is also the Clerk of the Magistrate Court.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I absolutely believe that it is beneficial for the District Clerk to have previous experience in government or politics. The District Clerk manages a staff of over 70 employees and a budget in excess of $5 million dollars. Efficiently managing the office is a 24/7 responsibility that requires significant expertise in interacting with attorneys, other District and County Clerks, Citizens and elected officials; expertise that only comes through experience.

I have worked in the Collin County Court system as a licensed attorney for more than 25 years and I have had the privilege of serving as the Collin County District Clerk for 6 years.

I have the education, experience and expertise to ensure that the Office of the Collin County District Clerk will continue to provide mission critical services to the Citizens of Collin County in an efficient, effective and customer service oriented manner.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

The most important expertise I possess with respect to the legal aspects of our duties is my 25 years of experience as a practicing attorney.

The most important expertise I possess with respect to people skills and administrative logistics are my education and training in communications and communications technologies, including my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Communications and Communications Technologies, as well as my relationships with the employee’s of the District Clerk’s office, and the Attorneys who practice in the County.

Tell us your favorite joke.

The problem with political jokes is that too many of them get elected.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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