GoLocal Endorsement: Secretary of State
Editorial
GoLocal Endorsement: Secretary of State
The office’s online tools desperately need modernization. This includes everything from the office’s main Web site to its lobbyist-tracking site.
And we all saw the failure of the office in September’s primary election when some voting machines were not correctly programmed, and votes may have been lost.
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Thus the next secretary of state needs to focus on updating its technology and, all in all, making the office more efficient.
Democratic candidate Gregg Amore, a state representative and a veteran and much-admired history and civics teacher, promises to do just that while energetically overseeing the office’s educational/public-information roles.
His appealing manner, moderate views, and deep knowledge of U.S. and Rhode Island history and government could make him a notable leader in expanding citizens’ understanding of their government, and of civic life in general and in encouraging more citizen participation in public life. That includes, of course, getting more people to vote. Election turnout can be depressingly low, especially in mid-term and off-year elections. That’s corrosive in a democracy.
Amore also wants to improve the technology of the secretary of state’s office to better serve small businesses, especially as they work through the complex web of governmental regulations.
The GOP candidate, Pat Cortellessa, who has been in the security and real-estate businesses, is a decent man and a Republican who has rejected the right-wing extremism that, sadly, has taken over much of his party nationally. We admire him for getting into the arena of political life.
We hope that whoever wins the office is focused on the aforementioned tasks, and not on the next electoral opportunity.
But in any event, Amore is clearly the stronger candidate,