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There will be another Patterson in county government with the win Tuesday night by Mike Patterson for Clerk of Courts.

Patterson is the son of the late George Patterson, the only six-term commissioner in the history of the county. The younger Patterson faced Rome Township fiscal officer Cheyrl Jenkins pulling approximately 56 percent of the vote or 14,465. Jenkins racked up 11,538 or about 44 percent of the vote.

This was Patterson’s first bid for elective office. He had considered the post four years ago but bowed out when his father chose to run for another term. For the past four years he has served as an income maintenance worker for the county’s Department of Jobs and Family Services, determining the Medicaid eligibility of its clients. Before that he ran a transfer station in Pike County, handling its daily finances.

When reached by phone Patterson said he wanted to “thank the good Lord,” he said. “I think everything is done for a reason. I want to put Christ first and thank my wife and everybody in Lawrence County. I will give 100 percent to this job. I think hard work pays off. I followed the way my dad did a race. I want to lead by example and do whatever is best for Lawrence County.”

Jenkins had tailored her campaign on her experience in the corporate and business worlds. She spent 20 years with Ashland Inc. as a paralegal, officer manager and sales rep, regional sales manager for Clark Material and district manager for Avon.

“I worked hard and my people worked hard,” Jenkins said. “We just accept it for what it is and move on.”