Why the Race for Register of Deeds Got Everyone’s Attention

There wasn’t much going on during the state primary last Tuesday in Fall River. Aside from a three-way Republican ballot race for a chance to run against Senator Elizabeth Warren (congratulations, John Deaton) the only competitive race was the one for the low-profile office of Register of Deeds.

The recording of legal documents as they relate to real estate isn’t a very glamorous job, though, in Fall River, it’s salary of over $100,000 might draw some attention. But the position has remained off the radar of political candidates for 30 years. Bernard J. McDonald has held it that entire time and has never been challenged. So when Swansea Board of Selectman Christopher Carreiro decided not to run for a fourth term and try and take McDonald on, it triggered a contentious campaign that had everyone jumping into the political waters. From former mayors to small bakery owners, everyone suddenly knew what the Register of Deeds was and had something to say about it.

McDonald, who grew up in Fall River, first ran for the position in 1994 and has earned the reputation of being a dependable, serious, constant in the city. Well liked and well respected, and without a scandal to his name, McDonald was the perfect candidate who no one ever challenged. Without a competitor, McDonald just continued to show up for work every day and do his job. Full-time, he would want me to add.

Earlier this year, in a Facebook post, Carreiro announced that he would not be seeking a fourth term as Selectman in Swansea, and instead would run for Register of Deeds. The news threw local politics for a loop. First, a challenger for McDonald – this generation had never had one. But moreover, Carreiro stepping aside from an elected role in his town on the surface was shocking. His name was synonymous with the town of Swansea. Carreiro was first elected to the Board of Selectmen in April 2015 after serving two terms on the town’s School Committee before that.

At the March Presidential Primary, Carreiro was out holding signs for his newly sought role where I asked him why he decided to not run again in Swansea. “It was time for me to move on,” he told me. It was rumored that if re-elected, McDonald’s sixth, six-year term would be his last, so, many wondered, why not wait for McDonald to finish?

“I’m ready now,” he told me as he greeted voters at the polls.

Soon after the announcement, the first bit of drama entered the race. Democratic Senator Michael Rodrigues took to his Facebook page to clear the record about campaign literature sent out by Carreiro that supposedly shared Rodrigues was endorsing him in the race.

“It has come to my attention that Chris Carreiro, candidate for Bristol County Register of Deeds, sent out a fundraising solicitation that included my name. Please know that it was done without my knowledge or permission. He has apologized and said it will never happen again. To be clear, I have not endorsed him in this election. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”

Both McDonald and Carreiro are Democrats, and the post seemed to draw a line in the sand concerning where the local delegation stood. Rodrigues has a close working relationship with State Representatives Carole Fiola, Alan Silvia, and Patricia Haddad. But it was the relationship between Haddad and Carreiro that made things interesting.

Carreiro began to advertise for a “Candidate Meet and Greet” with him and State Representative Patricia Haddad in March. Haddad, who herself is up for re-election this November, seemed to break away from the pack of local delegates who were supporting McDonald and go all in on Carreiro. It was noticed by many. McDonald himself spoke about the support, or lack thereof, at his election day celebration at Mesa 21 last week:

“There’s a lot of politicians out there that weren’t behind me. And they said they were, but they weren’t. Carole Fiola, Representative Carole Fiola she was there from day one with me.”

McDonald got even more specific: “There’s a lot of other elected officials behind my back, coming out against us, for no reason.”

It was a surrogate win for Fiola, who was at McDonald’s event election night with husband Ken. Carole Fiola had an automatic win, with no challengers for her 6th Bristol State Rep seat.

Haddad, however, isn’t so lucky. Republican newcomer and military veteran Justin Thurber is taking Haddad on for the second time. Thurber, who lives in Somerset and not far from Haddad, shocked constituents by earning 46% of the general election vote to Haddad’s 54% in 2022 after staging a write-in campaign to get on the November ballot, making his turnout even more impressive. With a formidable challenger on her heels, the decision to back Carreiro over McDonald could be a costly one for Haddad.

Back when BJ McDonald first ran for Register of Deeds in 1994, there was no such thing as social media. The digital age has proven to be a substantial challenge for candidates who don’t possess the skill set to navigate Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) and more so for the candidates who haven’t had to run a campaign in a couple of decades. Just ask longtime Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who like McDonald, hadn’t had a significant political challenge in decades. Perhaps Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux inspired Carreiro; he didn’t wait for Hodgson to retire before he came to snatch the position away in 2022.

The Register of Deeds race saw its fair share of Facebook drama. First up, McDonald’s campaign page got hacked and became unusable. But it was the posting of private texts and messages that ultimately led McDonald to “shut down” his social media completely in the last weeks of the race.

Christopher Silva, the owner of Christopher’s Bakery, shared a picture and post on his business page of Carreiro who came to visit the establishment. Silva took some heat from McDonald supporters for the post, who thought the owner should have kept the politics out of the business. The post even solicited a response from McDonald’s daughter, who privately messaged Silva about it. Silva, in turn, shared the private messages on his page, generating passionate responses from both sides.

The post came the same day as one from former Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan, who jumped into the fray and posted his screenshots, this time, of a private text conversation he had with McDonald himself. Flanagan had recently endorsed Carreiro just a few days before.

The election results were in and McDonald secured a victory over Carreiro. In his acceptance speech, he told supporters this was his last campaign. No word on what Carreiro will do next.

The least popular race in Bristol County with the most excitement is over. On to November.