Name as it appears on the ballot: Tammy L. Brunner

Age: 56

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign website: tammybrunner.com

Occupation & employer: Register of Deeds, Wake County

Years lived in North Carolina: 23 years

  1. Please tell us what in your record as a public official or private citizen demonstrates your ability to be an effective Register of Deeds? Please be specific.  

I have served as the Register of Deeds for the last four years. I believe that we have a worked hard as a team to streamline and simplify all of our operations.  I have spent the time not only adding additional services, perfecting existing services, I have also worked to create an environment of inclusion, safety, education and customer service.   

2) Describe the extent of your archival knowledge of Wake County’s public records system.  

As the Register of Deeds, I have learned what the public records system is in Wake County and the State of NC, what is public, what is not and how these records must be preserved and made available to the public.

3) What do you see as the three biggest challenges facing the Register of Deeds’ office? How would you work to mitigate those challenges?  

1. One of the biggest challenges for the office is fraud and how to prevent it. We are bound by the General Statutes of NC and would like to work with the NC General Assembly to update some of the rules we follow in order to record documents in our office. 

2. The office is in the process of implementing a new land records recording system in January and it is essential that everything is flawless at launch. Our priority is to ensure the accurate transfer of all documents, safeguarding against any loss or misrecording. Careful attention to detail will be crucial as we move forward.

3. Wake County grows by 51 people each day, the challenges that brings with birth, deaths, marriages and property deeds is immense. The office is working to expand our services to different parts of the county while also working to have highly trained people in the positions that record these documents.  

4) Do you believe the Register of Deeds office is operating at maximum efficiency? If not, what ideas do you have to make it more efficient? 

I do believe the office is operating at maximum efficiency, while there is always room for improvement, the staff of the ROD work hard every single day to be sure the services we offer are done at the highest level of accuracy and reliability.  When we see an issue that can be tweaked to improve the service, we implement the changes, we have a saying in our office, “just because it’s always been done that way, doesn’t mean it has to always be done that way”.  We are constantly working on ways to improve and streamline the services we offer to the residents of Wake County.

5) Do you believe employees in the Register of Deeds office should be permitted to refuse to perform duties on religious grounds? If so, under what circumstances?  I don’t believe under any circumstance an employee should be permitted to refuse to perform duties on religious grounds.  

6) Are there any other issues you would like to address that did not appear on this questionnaire?