Dean was elected to Marathon County Register of Deeds January 2017.

The Marathon County Register of Deeds has seven full time staff in addition to himself. The Register of Deeds implemented a computerized tract index in 1992, and an imaging system in 1996 to scan, preserve, and provide efficient access to the real estate document images. Online access to the real estate index is provided to customers, and online access to images is provided by subscription.