Dear Voter,

The County Clerk-Register of Deeds gets little notice, but performs many services for the public and local government. The Clerk-Register is the chief local election official, is custodian of a vast array of public records from birth certificates to mortgages, and provides administrative support to the local court system.

I am the incumbent candidate, and have been elected county commissioner in two different counties. In Ingham County, I was chair of the Personnel Committee, which directed labor negotiations and arbitrated grievances for the county’s 800-plus employees, and of the Administrative Services Committee, which handled budget and policy issues for the County Clerk and Register of Deeds.

As an election inspector at the city, township, and county level, poll challenger, candidate, elected official, director of voter registration drives, and attorney in recounts, I have participated in nearly every aspect of the election process, and I have written articles and given speeches about problems in election administration, voter authentication, tabulation, and voting systems. See, for example, this op-ed essay which appeared in the Ann Arbor News.

I have worked with deeds and other land records literally since boyhood. And my background in computer databases, networks, and security is very relevant in this era of Internet-accessible public records.

I hope to meet and talk with you during the campaign. If you want to get in touch, please write to me at polygon@potifos.com or the campaign committee postal address, or call me at 734-353-0131.

Larry Kestenbaum