Election 2026: Candidate for Washington County Recorder David Norton

As the 2026 general election approaches, The Washington County Times is publishing written interviews with candidates in contested races affecting Washington County.

The Times reached out to all candidates for whom we were able to obtain contact information and invited them to participate. If you are a candidate in a contested race and have not received an invitation, please contact us so we can make sure you have an opportunity to participate.

Candidates were provided with questions tailored to their campaign, personal history, and the office they are seeking. We encouraged candidates to answer the questions in their own words and to refrain from using ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools when preparing their responses.

All candidate responses have been published as submitted, without editing or alteration. The Washington County Times does not endorse political candidates, and any opinions or statements expressed within the following interview are the candidate's own.

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Why are you running for Washington County Recorder, and what do you believe you would bring to the office?

A person who deals with the Recorder's office on a regular basis came to me before the primary, asking me to run. They said the office requires attention to detail and they weren't sure that the other candidates had that attribute. They explained what can go wrong if the Recorder's Office drops the ball. I hadn't considered the office before, but I was persuaded that it does fit my background.

I have a BA in Mathematics, an MS in Statistics, and an MS in Industrial Engineering. Higher math isn't needed in the Recorder's Office, of course, but years of doing long proofs, which require that one make no mistakes, indicates that I am good at attention to detail, looking for errors before I consider a task completed. I also took plenty of Computer Science classes along the way, which shows that I have the ability to master the software used in the Recorder's Office. But more importantly, to make decisions about software in the future. With the rapid pace of development in software due to AI, the Recorder's Office needs someone who can stay on top of developments.

What do you see as the biggest responsibility of the Recorder's Office, and what should residents expect from the person holding the position?

The biggest responsibility of the office is to make sure that documents are recorded accurately, that every step of the process is completed correctly, that the right signatures are there, that the description of a property is accurate and makes sense. The same holds for every document recorded, not just property. Other documents which need attention to detail are mortgages, liens, encumbrances, easements, military discharge papers, mechanic's liens, etc.

I would make sure that every document recorded gets at least 2, preferably 3, sets of eyes on it. The records need to be accurate, and the Recorder's Office is the final check before a document goes into the Records, generally available to the public. If documents are not recorded properly, it might not turn up in searches, or a lien could be placed on the wrong property, or a property sold without the taxes being paid, etc. It could be someone's personal catastrophe.

The Recorder's Office is responsible for maintaining and preserving a large volume of property and legal records. What would you do to ensure those records remain accurate, secure and accessible?

First, I would keep the current employees. The Office has operated well under the current Recorder, Terri Graves, and her employees. I want that to continue. Their expertise and experience are needed for continued smooth operations.

Second, I will continue the process of Indexing and Verification of the documents which have been digitized. The digitization of past records is mostly complete. But those records need to be indexed for them to be searchable online. And verification is important to make sure that the names are properly transcribed from photocopies, for example. Much of a document is in cursive, of course, which makes this not so cut and dried.

Third, I will continue using the Laredo software. A change would cost far too much, even if other software might be somewhat better or used by more counties.

The goal is to have every record digitized and searchable online, unless forbidden by statute. With redactions as required by statute.

What role should technology and online access play in the Recorder's Office? Are there records or services you believe should be made easier for residents to access remotely?

EVERYTHING should be easier for residents to access remotely!

Public Records should be as available as possible to the public. Technology is what makes this possible. I would continue the office's current practice of making copies of deeds available for no charge to property owners. I would like to make certified copies available for free too, and will, if the budget permits.

In all my involvement in local politics, openness and transparency have been one of my primary concerns. I have objected to records not being made public and meetings held without public notice. Once I filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor when the Planning Commission tried to have meetings from which the public was excluded. My complaint was upheld. I have demonstrated my dedication to open and accessible records.

I would explore adding more information and links to the Washington County government website.

My goal would be for every record to be publicly available online, unless prohibited by statute, with the required redactions of course.

How would you balance making records readily available to the public with protecting sensitive personal information contained in those records?

The balance should be that unless prohibited by statute, every record should be publicly available. That's what "public records" means. Absolute openness and transparency. The only exceptions are what the law requires to be redacted. If some things ought to be restricted, that is for the legislature or courts to decide. One should change the law if something ought not to be public. If I think something ought not to be made public, I would contact my state legislators to lobby for a change. I wouldn't violate our Open Door and other laws by holding back records. I would always lean towards maximum openness where there is leeway.

What would you look at first when taking over an office that has existing systems, procedures and records management practices?

First, I would not change anything immediately. I would keep the current personnel, systems, and practices.

Second, I would learn the systems, practices, and understand why they are the way they are, how they work, as thoroughly as possible before making any changes. I believe that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". I wouldn't change things merely because I don't understand them or no one can explain why they are the way they are. I will investigate and do my best to see why they are what they are, before making changes.

I want to implement a complaint program, to allow customers to make complaints, point out errors, and track them. I'd like to publish them to hold myself and the office accountable, but more importantly, to track whether complaints are addressed, take action to fix problems, to make sure complaints are addressed, and identify problem areas where something might need to be changed, and to change them if necessary. I.e., "if it's broke, fix it".

What do you believe is the biggest misconception residents have about what the County Recorder does?

I'll confess, I knew very little about the office before I was convinced to run for the office. I think that's the biggest misconception, that the office simply takes a deed and puts in the book.

Second, is the wide variety of records that are recorded. Not just property deeds, but liens, mortgages on properties, mechanic's liens and other bonds, tax liens, military discharge records, subdivision plats, etc.

Third, that the Recorder doesn't just take the deed and record it. The process is often that the person comes in to record a deed, and the Recorder sends them to the County Surveyor to check the property description to make sure it's correct. Then to the Assessor to check the sales price, and property description for tax assessment purposes., etc. Then it goes to the Auditor to be entered onto the tax rolls, etc. Only after it has been stamped by the Assessor and Auditor, does it go the Recorder to be recorded. The Recorder is a final check that everything has been done correctly.

I was well aware that we were in the process of digitizing records, especially the old records. But I'm not sure the public is aware. Nor that there is more to it than merely scanning each document into a digital copy. It is also necessary to index each document, take the names of the buyer, seller, etc., and make them searchable fields in a database so that eventually one can search online for, say, all property ever owned by "John Doe", rather than having to read through every possible book of deeds. And transcribing names in cursive can produce errors. Anyone who has done much geneology knows that. So verification is also an important step.

And there are services available that more residents need to know about.

There is the Property Fraud Alert system. Property owners need to sign up for this service in order to have it. It sends the property owner an alert if someone tries to do anything with their property, like sell it, or put a lien on it, etc. I would push to get all property owners to sign up for it.

I was surprised to learn that the office can record military discharge papers. This allows for a safe and secure backup copy, in case discharge papers get lost or destroyed accidentally. I would do my best to let more veterans know that this service is available and encourage local businesses to participate in the rewards program to give veterans discounts. Veterans can get a certified copy of their discharge papers if they have them recorded by the office.

What, if anything, would you change about the way the Recorder's Office currently serves the public?

First, I would try to offer property owners certified copies of their deeds at no charge, just as we already do for uncertified copies. I understand that we don't do many of these anyway, so we could probably afford it. But I want to make sure that we can do it, first.

Second, as I said above, I want to implement a complaint or error tracking system. A principle in business is that, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it".

But otherwise, I wouldn't change anything unless there are specific problems identified which need to be fixed.

If elected, what would be your top priority during your first year in office?

Learn the existing systems, software, practices, inside and out. That's number one. Don't break a system that's working well.

Make sure the Indexing and Verification of the digitized records is progressing.

Encourage property owners to sign up for the Property Fraud Alert system.

Encourage veterans to record their military discharge papers.

Inform the public that they can get a free copy of their previously recorded deed.