Robert Haraden: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: LibtervilleWebsite: electharaden.orgTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake County Recorder of Deeds Age: 55Family: Donna, my wonderful Wife of 27 years is a manager of Regulatory Affairs at Baxter. My son Collin Master Science Duke University is applying to medical school and is working at Duke University on Arthritis Research and my daughter Carlie is studying Accounting at University of Kentucky and just completed a summer internship at PWC in ChicagoOccupation: Dentists, Research EngineerEducation: 1983 BS Electrical Engineering UIC1989 MS Electronic Engineering Marquette1998 DDS University of Illinois at ChicagoCivic involvement: Director of the Lake and McHenry Soil and Water Conservation a appointed volunteer positionUIC Engineering Alumni BoardAssistant Scout Master and been involved in scouting since 1998. Retired in 2012Adopt a Hwy (Lake County section of Midlothian Rd)Adopted a Hwy (McHenry County section of Charles Rd)Elected offices held: Director and Treasure of Lake and McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation DistrictQuestions Answers How well has the Recorder of Deeds performed, and what qualifications would you bring to the office?My qualifications for the Recorder of Deeds Office, an administrative position are as follows; I am currently Director and Treasurer of the Lake and McHenry County Soil and Water and manage 13 employees at my dental office. Previously worked at Abbott Laboratories for 12yrs as Research Electronics Engineer and held the position as Assistant Scout Master for Troop 96 in Grayslake. Growing up on my family farm in Lake County instilled in me perseverance, honesty, integrity and great work ethics. Finally as a practicing medical professional I have improved my critical thinking, team building skills and my compassion for people.If you expect to ask for an increase in appropriations during the next four years, what areas would you want to put more money into?The county board is requiring all county departments and agencies to reduce their budgets for the next fiscal year by at least 5%. If the request for increasing in county appropriations for public health and safety are declined, then non-essential county services such as the Recorders Office will certainly be required to cut their budget.The only way to control the cost of the operation of the Recorder's office is to reduce its reliance on office personnel and increase its reliance on technology. The Recorder of Deeds must preserve and protect public records, while retrieving documents with greater efficiency online.List any of your relatives (including those related to you by marriage, and nieces/nephews) who are on the public payroll in Illinois, their jobs and who they work for.None.Describe your position on transparency in the office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?The future challenges for the Lake County Recorder of Deeds office is the protection of personal information inherent in recorded documents from exposure to cyber criminals, while maintaining public transparency of the activities of the office. Because cyber criminal enterprises are forever evolving to defeat security improvements and electronic cyber walls, then the team at the Recorder of Deeds Office will need to focus on evolving software technology, vigilance and close coordination with law enforcement.Please list any elected office you've ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I ran for Lake County Board and lost against Ann Maine in a Republican Primary.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?If elected, I plan on working to streamline, automate and merge the Recorder of Deeds position with the County Clerks Office, which will save taxpayers $500K in 4 years.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Ronald Reagan not a current leader but was one of the most inspiring leaders that has influenced me politically.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Never give up on trying, learn from your failures and count your blessings.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would participate in high school sports. I was never allowed to play high school sports because I worked on my family farm in Libertyville.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math. I use it everyday for make calculated decisions. The highest level of college math was a graduate level Partial Differential Equations with heat transfer.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Honesty. It's the magical core to trustworthy, faith, friends, and happiness.