Hamilton County Register of Deeds Marc Gravitt will run for a second term in the May primary election, he announced Monday.
The East Ridge Republican was first elected in 2018 and is so far the only candidate to file campaign paperwork for the seat and return his qualifying petitions to the Hamilton County Election Commission, according to its website.
"I was already in real estate, so I think in my political career it's rewarding I get to continue in the same type of business as I was in earlier," Gravitt said in a Monday phone interview. "Even though we do record 98 different types of documents, the significant portion of that is dealing with real estate."
(READ MORE: See who intends to run in Hamilton County's 2022 primary elections)
The Republican said his priority if re-elected would be to finish scanning and indexing the county's oldest records - which date back to 1796 - so they are available online.
There are approximately 1,400 books remaining, each of which ranges from 700 to 1,000 pages, he said.
The register of deeds office is responsible for recording documents such as deeds, mortgages and marriage settlements, according to the county's website.
In addition, the register of deeds collects and accounts for all fees and taxes related to the documents.
As many residents don't know what his position entails, Gravitt said, a part of his duty is to inform the public about what he and his colleagues are responsible for handling in the county.
"We are what I refer to as the librarians of all things county and real estate," he said.
Gravitt, a former real estate broker and auctioneer, serves as the legislative chair of the Tennessee Register's Association, according to a Monday news release.
He is also on the legislative committee for the County Officials Association of Tennessee and serves as the treasurer of the East Tennessee Register's Association.
Other than working as the county's register of deeds, his previous political experience includes serving as a state representative for the state's District 30 and serving as a member on the East Ridge City Council.
The 2022 primary election will be held May 3.
Candidates must return qualifying petitions to the elections commission by Feb. 17, and they have until Feb. 24 to withdraw from the race.
Contact Logan Hullinger at lhullinger@timesfreepress.com or 814-319-5158. Follow him on Twitter @LoganHullinger.