Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

Jack Sawyer is blessed with a wonderful wife and three adorable children. A lifetime resident of North Carolina, Jack is a native of Kinston and currently resides in Alamance County where he practices law and brokers real estate. Jack received a Bachelor degree in Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1994 and then earned a Law degree from Regent University in 1998.

As an attorney and small business owner Jack has built a successful law practice by forging alliances with bankers, mortgage lenders, realtors, and community leaders.  His private practice experience includes hiring and managing personnel, overseeing and accounting for the receipt and disbursement of more than $150,000,000.00 in client funds, managing the daily operations of a growing business, and representing thousands of people in various real estate and business transactions. Jack has also gained valuable business experience inside one of the nation's largest title insurance companies, as a North Carolina licensed real estate broker, and serves as a Director on the Board of Directors of a North Carolina property and casualty company based in Greensboro.

Jack's community involvement includes serving as a Sunday School teacher, nursing home volunteer, and a member of the Mebane Business Association.  Jack is also a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, the Alamance County Bar Association, the North Carolina Association of Realtors, and the Burlington-Alamance Association of Realtors.

First, I will have the State Auditor perform a fiscal control audit of the department.  The most recent audit of the department was performed in 2003, and it found "significant deficiencies in internal control over financial accounting and reporting."  It also revealed that Secretary Marshall, even after 6 years on the job, did not have policies and procedures in place to account for and deposit money received by the department.  A current audit will serve as a management barometer, which will help me bring fiscal accountability to the office.

Second, I will perform a comprehensive review of the processing of documents filed with the department.  Such a review is critical, for in 2006 it was revealed that hundreds of thousands of social security numbers were posted on Secretary Marshall's website.  When this massive security breach came to light, Marshall refused to take the effected portion of the website down, claiming that to do so could cause interest rates to rise! 

Providing information online constitutes one of the primary responsibilities of your Secretary of State.  When I am Secretary of State I will ensure the department has the best procedures and technology to carry out this responsibility without compromising the financial security and identity of North Carolinians.

Third, I will implement a Transparency in Government Initiative (TGI).  TGI will include posting the department's budget on its website.  As part of TGI, I will introduce a motion to the Council of State to implement live on-line streaming of the Council's monthly meetings.  This will allow all our citizens to watch the meetings of their Council of State on-line. Our state government is lagging behind in transparency, not for lack of resources, but due to a lack of political will.

Please visit www.JoinJack.com for more information.  Thank you for your support.