Vaughan appointed as Dodge County Attorney

A familiar face has been selected to become the next Dodge County Attorney. 
 
The Dodge County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday unanimously approved the appointment of Paul Vaughan to serve the remainder of Oliver Glass’ term as county attorney. 
 
Vaughan, who served as county attorney for 10 years, is the current deputy county attorney. He will assume his new position on April 1. 
 
“I am grateful that the board chose me to finish this term,” Vaughan said. “It is a humbling experience to come into a position like this and recognize the importance of the job and what the community expects from the office.
 
“I’ve spent over half of my legal career working in the Dodge County Attorney’s office. I just want to use this time to try and help the office kind of get back on its feet and re-establish confidence the community has in the office.”
 
Glass resigned March 1 amid personal and legal issues.
 
Lon Strand, who was part of a supervisors’ panel with Bob Bendig and Dan Weddle to consider the qualifications of the three candidates, made the recommendation. 
 
Chairman Bob Missel thanked the panel and also the three candidates, who included Pamela Hopkins and Christian Mirch. Missel said Vaughan brings a wealth of experience to the position. 
 
“In Paul we have the benefit of someone who has served on both sides of the bench (judge and attorney) and has an extensive career with what that position has to deal with,” Missel said. 
 
Vaughan was the Dodge County Attorney in 2011 when he was appointed by former Gov. Dave Heineman to serve as a judge in the Sixth District Court in Dawson and Dixon counties. Glass was then appointed to finish Vaughan’s term and was elected to the position in 2014 and 2018. 
 
When Vaughan’s term as judge expired in 2020, he and his wife, Patti, moved back to Fremont and he began work as a deputy county attorney. 
 
Vaughan discussed how his extensive law experience will benefit him in the county role. 
 
“I think the more you are exposed to the different jobs that are involved in any process, the more you understand where everyone is coming from,” he said. “Hopefully you can approach the job with that knowledge and try to make the best decisions for your client and recognize the pressures the court and the defense attorneys have. … I’ve kind of done all of those jobs. I was in private practice for about 12 years in Fremont and did criminal defense work during that time, too. I understand how criminal defense attorneys have to do their job and that gives me a perspective that I think a lot of prosecutors may not always understand.” 
Vaughan plans to hire another attorney to bring the office up to full staff. He also wants to reach out to law enforcement agencies in the community. 
 
“I want to see what kind of concerns they might have, try to listen to those concerns and make any changes that we can within the office,” he said. “That will help everyone feel like their concerns are being addressed in how we do the job.” 
 
Vaughan, 65, said when he moved back to Fremont about 18 months ago he anticipated retiring as the deputy county attorney.
 
“In the next (18 months) to two years I will be a lot busier than anticipated,” Vaughan said. “But I do know I’ve done the job before and hopefully that experience will make it easier for me to get up and running right away and not have a big learning curve with what has to be done.”
 
Prior to the meeting, the board also had a moment of silence for former Supervisor Loell Strand, who died Friday. Strand served on the board for 17 years.
The board also approved grant applications for community-based juvenile services aid to submit to the Nebraska Crime Commission. Also approved was an interlocal agreement with the Nickerson Rural Fire District for cost-sharing of the radio system linking emergency communications together.
The board received a formal notice of noncompliance with minimum jail standards from the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.