He thinks the office is a natural fit for a candidate who’s running as an Independent — and thinks, up against someone as powerful and entrenched as Bill Galvin, it’s the best stance from which to challenge him.
Please share widely!
Reality-based commentary on politics.
I am a title examiner. I have to work with the results of Secretary Galvin’s decisions about how to keep the records in the registries of deeds that are under his control. There are nominally independently elected registers of deeds, but I think it is pretty clear that all of the important shots are called by Secretary Galvin’s office, including the choice to buy the lousy software to which we have entrusted our real estate records and the choice to ignore the statutory requirement to have paper records. The result of his actions has been to make our real estate records far less reliable than they were years ago, and I see that trend accelerating, with the active participation of the Real Estate Bar Association and the Great and General Court.
<
p>The record on voting is somewhat more mixed in my opinion. Nonetheless, the fact that we are using any electronic method to count votes and that we are relying on those results rather than counting our votes transparently and in public, i.e., by hand, should make us all question the person who ultimately runs that system as well.
<
p>I want to be able to support a candidate who understands, among other things, where computers improve our lives and where they don’t and who will stand up for the citizenry and promote as much real transparency as possible.
Thats my motto.
CambridgeKnitter, as someone who has also spent his fair share of time in the various Registries of Deeds, I would be very interested to hear any specific concerns or suggestions you may have. While I would like to make use of technology in a way to make it easier for everyone to access public information, such as real estate documents, we also have to make sure we can rely upon that information being accurate and complete.
<
p>Your last comment is well-put. I have often said to friends and clients alike, while e-mail is good for an awful lot of things, every once in a while you just have to talk to a person directly.
<
p>Please feel free to contact me at jim@JimForSOC.com if you would like to continue this conversation. Thanks.
<
p>Jim Henderson