You can listen to archived audio from the July 11 Seward County Register of Deeds candidate forum with candidates for the Register of Deeds primary election in August.
Candidates in attendance at the forum, in their speaking order as randomly drawn before the forum: Janet Thompson; Lina Hill; Jill Garinger.
Dandi Amerin served as moderator for the forum; Amerin serves on the board of directors for the Liberal Chamber of Commerce. The Liberal Chamber helped sponsor the forum, along with area media outlets including Seward County Broadcasting.
The candidates began with opening statements, in their randomly drawn speaking order:
The moderator sometimes rephrased or paraphrased a question when repeating the question for candidates. This story sets in “quotation marks” the original phrasing of the question before the first candidate answered it.
Question 1: “What does it mean to you to serve in an elected office, and to be an elected official?”
Thompson; Hill; Garinger.
Q2: “What is your motivation or reason for pursuing the position of register of deeds for Seward County with no background in that particular department?”
Hill; Garinger; Thompson.
Q3: “What is your background or experience as it relates to the duties of the register of deeds?”
Garinger; Thompson; Hill.
Q4: “If elected, what training is available to help you prepare for the position?”
Thompson; Hill; Garinger.
Q5: “Describe the role of the register of deeds office and the importance or role it has in local government from your viewpoint.”
Hill; Garinger; Thompson.
Q6: “What do you feel the challenges are facing the office, and what improvements do you feel you can bring, if elected?”
Garinger; Thompson; Hill.
Q7: “As a register of deeds, besides the statutory duties of the office, you will be managing staff, creating a department budget, and organizing the running and efficiency of the office. What makes you the better candidate for this position, with all things considered?”
Thompson; Hill; Garinger.
Q8: “If elected register of deeds, do you plan to offer e-recording and online document access? If so, how do you plan to accomplish that?”
Hill; Garinger; Thompson. Follow-up by Garinger.
Q9: “Describe what ‘metes and bounds’ is.”
Garinger; Thompson; Hill.
Q10: “What are the requirements for obtaining a passport from the register of deeds office?”
Thompson; Hill; Garinger. Follow-up by Thompson.
Q11: “What do you plan to accomplish as the next register of deeds?”
Hill; Garinger; Thompson.
Closing statements, in this speaking order: Jill Garinger; Janet Thompson; Lina Hill.
Moderator Amerin then thanked the participants and concluded the forum.
