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Billy Daniel has managed offices in manufacturing and real estate, and said he is well positioned to do a good job as the next Register of Deeds, should he win the upcoming election.

He said his experience working directly with property transactions means he knows how to serve the people in deeds pipeline.

“In my background, I’ve been in manufacturing for 20 years, and was in leadership positions,” Daniel said. “And the last 25 years I’ve sold real estate, so I have the management skills and the experience working with people from my industrial career. And I have the experience of working with deeds, covenants and restrictions, mortgage releases, released deeds — everything that’s associated with real estate transactions on a daily basis. So I feel like my qualifications are beyond reproach, and I’ll be ready to step in on day one and have a full understanding of what that office does, what they need to do, and the service that we provide to the citizens of Hamblen County.”

Daniels said the current office, led by retiring Register of Deeds Jim Clawson, is already operating at a high level and does not require major operational changes.

“Mr. Clawson has done a fantastic job of getting the records online,” Daniels said. “I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of improvement that can be done as far as making the access available.”

Daniel said that he wants to help educate and improve the public understanding of tools that are already in place to help people.

This emphasis includes educating folks on how to prevent fraud.

Daniels pointed to a free state program that allows property owners to monitor activity tied to their deeds.

“I think one of the big tenets of my campaign… is educating the citizens of Hamblen County,” Daniels said. “There is a program available through the state that you can easily go in there and sign up and register your property… it’s a fraud prevention tool that’s provided by the state at no charge to you.”

He said promoting that program would be a priority early in his tenure if elected.

“That will be one of my main missions starting out,” he said.

In terms of day-to-day operations, Daniels described the Register of Deeds office as a service-driven department that is already functioning efficiently.

“People need to understand that’s not really a political office. It’s a service office,” he said. “They are so good at what they do.”

To continue the work of Clawson, Daniel said he wants to strengthen relationships with professionals who regularly interact with the Register office such as realtors, title companies and attorneys.

““I’d like to really establish a close working relationship with the Realtor Association,” he said. “I’d really like to bring them into the fold and offer any service that would help improve what we do for the citizens of Hamblen County.”

Daniel said the local business environment around deeds is strong.

“We have some wonderful title companies in Hamblen County… there are none better than what we’ve got right here locally,” Daniel said.