New Kent County recorder of deeds touts experience

By Craig Anderson
Posted 11/9/22

DOVER - According to the newly-elected Recorder of Deeds, “I’m grateful that the residents of Kent County agreed that experience should become before politics.

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New Kent County recorder of deeds touts experience

Posted

DOVER — When the vote totals in the Kent County Recorder of Deeds race were finalized Tuesday night, Eugenia “Gene” Thornton’s message had been validated.

“I’m grateful that the residents of Kent County agreed that experience should become before politics,” she said.

Ms. Thornton, 72, pitched her 27-year U.S. Army career and 13 years of experience as Levy Court planning commissioner as ample qualifications for the position.

Ms. Thornton, a Republican, topped 33-year-old D.J. Cox, a Democrat, by a margin of 52.7% to 47.3%. She’ll be sworn into office Jan. 3.

“Experience before politics was my campaign slogan,” Ms. Thornton said. “That’s what I said when out in public.

“That’s what was on the side of my car. That was what was on every Facebook message.

“That was what was in every speech I gave. It was what I told everybody that I encountered in the grocery store, when I was pumping gas, everywhere.”

And as to her Republican designation on the ballot, Ms. Thornton didn’t put much stock in it because “the fact is that once you’re in the job, politics don’t matter.

“Everybody’s deed gets recorded. And the fact that some people don’t like Donald Trump or don’t like Joe Biden has no bearing on how the recorder of deeds job will be done. When I was in the military, we worked side by side with people (who) we didn’t even know what each other’s party was.

“You all had one focus, one mission, one goal, and things like politics had no play in that and that is how the deeds office will be run as well.

“And I tried to convince the voters of that and I think it’s one reason that I was able to be one of the few victors in the Republican Party because I believe I successfully made my case.”

Ms. Thornton will replace Betty Lou McKenna, who did not seek re-election after 20 years in office. The office has five staff members, including the recorder of deeds.

While campaigning, Ms. Thornton said she asked stakeholders what they’d like to see improved in the office.

Those working in real estate, brokerage firms, mortgage companies, along with attorney and paralegals “said they have a need to get paperwork done faster for their purposes. So there’s a need to find solutions to eliminate the backlog,” Ms. Thornton said.

In order to speed the process, Ms. Thornton has an eye on replacing current Levy Court software that allows the public to navigate the documentation process. She acknowledges that she doesn’t control the county budget, hence the need to collaborate with Levy Court commissioners and information technology staff to plot a way forward.

A revamped software system, as Ms. Thornton favors, “may be difficult to do because the county already spent money on a product that wasn’t optimal because it didn’t include feedback from the people who use it the most.”

According to Levy Court, the recorder of deeds is “responsible for indexing and maintaining copies of legal documents pertaining to land, mortgages, appointments, etc.”

Also, “The mission of the Recorder of Deeds Office is to Serve the people of Kent County by correctly recording and indexing documents in a timely and efficient manner, by courteously responding to requests for help and information, by collecting and properly accounting for the appropriate fees and taxes, and by providing every employee with motivation, training, and experience so that each one can enjoy progressing toward a higher level as a skilled and productive worker.”

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