Attorney and Boston native Tanisha Sullivan has undertaken an energetic and well-defined campaign to defeat Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin in the Sept. 6 Democratic primary election.
The former chief equity officer for the Boston Public Schools is ready to redefine the mission of “one of the most important offices people know very little about.”
Charged with a variety of public responsibilities, including administration of elections, the Secretary’s office can do much more, said Sullivan, to ensure Massachusetts elections are fair and open.
“We would aggressively seek to increase voter registration,” Sullivan said.
She said the Secretary can advocate for more resources to help local election officials do their jobs. She said the office can help election officials in small communities do a better job following election law protocol, and improve bilingual and military ballot access.
Sullivan said her focus on election oversight reform in the Secretary’s office mirrors voters’ concerns.
“What I hear from people is, ‘What are we going to do to increase voter registration?'” she said.
The Secretary’s corporate oversight role is also ripe for reform, Sullivan said. She would take a close look at the Secretary’s small business fee structure and find ways to give businesses greater access to resources made available through the Secretary’s office.
Sullivan said she will “embrace the power” of the Secretary’s office to ensure historic tax credit availability is linked to small-scale developers with a priority on affordable housing proposals and housing for the disabled.
The Secretary’s office needs to be on the ground floor of discussions relative to regulating the emerging cryptocurrency market.
“I want to reinvigorate the office,” she said.
