Response from Edward McFowland, Recorder of Deeds Candidate

1. What do you view as the key role, and/or attributes needed for this position? 

The willingness to listen to the people actually working in positions who can give actual information on how to best update services.


2. What education (schools attended, degrees attained), experience, and attributes do you have that qualify you for this position?
           
I have a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Public administration


3. Why do you think you are the best person for this position?  What differentiates you from your opponents? 

I feel what makes me the best person for this position is that I have a passion for doing things that benefits my employees specifically, and the citizens of St. Louis as a whole.  And this will be done by instituting policies that increase revenue and create good government.


4. What do you feel are the most pressing issues currently facing this office and what plans do you have to address these issues? (please be specific)

The most pressing issues are to first, modernize the office to allow FREE access to public records.  The second issue will be to increase and maintain technology and tools necessary for high level productivity in the workplace.  The third and most important issue is employee morale. It’s good to have employees happy to come to work. If employees aren’t happy, customers are usually unhappy. 


5. Describe how you work with, or will work with, others to address your priorities.

I will first visit other Recorder of Deeds offices in the county and other cities.  From the research already conducted, I know some much smaller municipalities that are ahead of us as it relates to 21st technology.


6. What services could this office offer citizens that it does not now offer?

As mentioned above, services to include internet accessibility to marriage licenses, death and birth records and to be able to view and pay by credit card on line for land deed and archive records.


7. How can this office improve the economic strength of the city?

By making all relevant documents accessible on line and reconfigure the policies/prices given to title companies and real-estate companies and other entities.  This will improve economic strength to the city and to the office as well.  The saved revenues and the revenue created by updating the current systems combined could create a few more jobs for the office, which in turn translates into better customer service.  


8. Are there functions of this office that are now obsolete and can be eliminated or combined for efficiency?

From the research conducted I feel if we incorporate the measures mentioned above, some of the obsolete functions i.e.…records to be reviewed and paid for on line and the ability to access and be able to copy public records for free on line.


9. How are you working/would you work to make this office a 21st Century office?

See items 1, 4, 5,6,7,8, above.


10. If you could ask each of your opponents one question, what would it be? (You may specify a different question for each opponent or the same question for both.)

I would ask the current recorder of deeds, “What happened to this office and why were the improvements that were started stopped?”  Why do you continue to ask people to vote for you when you speak of accomplishments of years ago, but nothing recent.