It's coworker vs. coworker for Bristol Town Clerk

Incumbent touts knowledge, experience and customer service, while challenger says it’s time to modernize

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 9/21/18

A couple of minutes before the 4 p.m. filing deadline on June 27, Melissa Cordeiro, who has served as a senior clerk in the Bristol Town Clerk’s office for nearly 11 years, submitted her papers …

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It's coworker vs. coworker for Bristol Town Clerk

Incumbent touts knowledge, experience and customer service, while challenger says it’s time to modernize

Posted

A couple of minutes before the 4 p.m. filing deadline on June 27, Melissa Cordeiro, who has served as a senior clerk in the Bristol Town Clerk’s office for nearly 11 years, submitted her papers to a colleague before leaving the office for the day.

Ms. Cordeiro's descision to run certainly caught her boss off guard.

“I was really, really surprised,” said Lou Cirillo. “I never thought that anyone was disappointed with me to the point of wanting to have me discharged.”

For her part, Ms. Cordeiro says the timing wasn’t designed for impact. “It’s a three-day filing period, and I filed at the end of the third day.”

The decision to run was not made overnight. With more than 10 years on the job, Ms. Cordeiro has had the opportunity to talk to thousands of Bristol residents about the functionality of her office. “What I am hearing is that people want a more convenient and accessible town hall,” she said. “Technology has come a long way.”

Bristol, she asserts, is behind the curve. She cited land evidence records, which include mortgages, deeds, and liens, as an example. Bristol’s records are only digitally accessible back to 2005. Warren residents can access them back to 1950, Portsmouth to 1948, and Tiverton to 1958.

Cirillo: We’ve made technological upgrades

Mr. Cirillo, a longtime manager and public servant with years of experience on the town council, school committee, and board of canvassers, says that he has actually implemented more new technology to the office than all his predecessors combined.

“The land evidence system that my opponent operates is a system that was put in shortly after I began; prior to that it was all paper,” he said. “The probate system hadn’t changed since the 1800s, and we put in a simple access-based system. Working with the state, we implemented a birth record retrieval system that went statewide.

“There have been many changes to the central voter registration system; and our website is set up to post council minutes, agendas, and videos all in one place.”

Mr. Cirillo claims that he needs to balance the addition of new technology with the goal of keeping costs under control, especially in light of the fact that the Town Hall only has itinerant information technology staffing. He is also concerned about guaranteeing privacy and security. 

“This isn’t my information — this is your information,” he said. “You want to look at all the possibilities of what can happen when you put this information out there. I want to make sure your data is safe.”

Cordeiro: We need more upgrades

Ms. Cordeiro, a 1996 graduate of Mt. Hope High School, who studied hospitality at Johnson & Wales and worked for several years in customer relations at Sovereign Bank before joining the team in the town clerk’s office, loves interacting with the public.

“I’ve been out just about every day, knocking on doors, meeting people, and hearing what they say, and I love doing that,” she said.

“What they are saying is they do not understand why it is so inconvenient to perform simple tasks like apply for parking stickers and business licenses.”

Mr. Cirillo insists that it’s not as simple as it seems. Many items, like birth and death certificates, require an original signature. “It’s not really something you can do 100 percent online. That goes for a lot of the things we do,” he said.

“People don’t always know where to look, and I don’t have a problem spending time with people, helping them find what they need, or if they are going to come before the council, helping them make sure they are going to come prepared,” he said. “In anything that we do, I don’t want to take the human element out of it, because I think that’s important.”

The work environment

Both Mr. Cirillo and Ms. Cordeiro insist they are moving forward, giving priority to their respective jobs. “I go to work every day, she goes to work every day, and we do our jobs,” said Mr. Cirillo.

“We are all professionals,” said Ms. Cordeiro. “I’ve got a job to to do. I enjoy helping people and I do it every day with a smile.”

For Ms. Cordeiro, however, there is another bottom line. “You don’t have to go to the registry anymore to renew your driver’s license,” she said. “Why should you have to take time out of work to go to the town hall to renew a $6 dog license?”

“I pride myself on offering a very personal service,” said Mr. Cirillo. “I’ve never had a single complaint about someone not getting what they need.”

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