Tracy Gordon is a longtime advocate of the community. She has been active in the community for 25 years and started off as a Block Captain.
Gordon stated that “Hard work pays off,” regarding her most recent success.
In last Tuesday’s Primary, she defeated Ronald Donatucci and Jacque Whaumbush to win the Democratic Party’s Ticket. This comes as a huge upset after defeating Donatucci, who had previously held the job for 40 years. Because of this turn of events, Gordon is on track to become the first African-American woman to win the office and become Register of Wills in Pennsylvania.
The Register of Wills’ responsibility is to validate wills. This includes, but is not limited to, the legal process for transferring the belongings of deceased individuals to their heirs, or when there is no will issuing letters of distribution according to a predetermined process, and issuing marriage licenses.
Gordon called running for the position a “unique challenge.” While she was out trying to obtain signatures and campaigning in the citywide primary, Gordon took the time to explain the office’s importance and responsibilities to nearly every voter.
“Where I could have had five signatures, I had one because I had to stand with somebody for 15 and 20 minutes to explain to them an office they should know about,” she said. [Michael D’Onotrio, Tribune]
Through these many one-on-one conversations, Gordon had been able to connect with a multitude of residents who had experience with “tangled titles”. This is where a person has an interest in or is living in a property, but is not the legal owner, which is the case when a family member dies without a will(s). It is important that residents know about what services are available from the Register of Wills office because it helps “administer the transfer of generational wealth,” Gordon stated.
In an interview with Philly Magazine, Gordon said that if she won in the general election, there are three areas she’d like to tackle to ensure that residents can get help with “tangled titles,” increase the community’s knowledge about the importance of wills, as well as stop “tangled titles” from happening in the first place.
