Melissa Tyler

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Melissa Tyler

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Personal

Profession

Small business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Melissa Tyler (independent) ran for election for Suffolk County Register of Probate in Massachusetts. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Tyler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Tyler's professional experience includes owning an incubator space, an internet company, and rental properties.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Suffolk County, Massachusetts (2020)

General election

General election for Suffolk County Register of Probate

Incumbent Felix Arroyo defeated Melissa Tyler and Althea Garrison in the general election for Suffolk County Register of Probate on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Felix Arroyo (D)	76.8	207,828
		Melissa Tyler (Independent)	11.5	31,043
		Althea Garrison (Independent)	11.2	30,303
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	1,565

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 270,739
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Suffolk County Register of Probate

Incumbent Felix Arroyo defeated Kerby Roberson in the Democratic primary for Suffolk County Register of Probate on September 1, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Felix Arroyo	70.5	94,453
	Submit photo	Kerby Roberson	29.1	38,908
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	569

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 133,930
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Melissa Tyler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tyler's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have lived in E. Boston for 20 years and have been active in the community, serving on many boards, which I will continue to do for years to come. I have already reached out to other Registers of Probate in Massachusetts & they agree that a new system is needed and that, if we work together to fix the issues, Massachusetts will be a leader in the family court system rather than 31st out of 50.

My background as a Production & Expediting Director, coordinating multiple people & processes to result in finished products. Most of the information & parts I deal with come from all over the world to then be assembled/manufactured in America.

My strengths include simplifying complex systems & making them user-friendly & cost effective by identifying the correct channels & persons to achieve the end result. I also firmly believe that you need to hire the right person for the job or promote from within. Simply stated, the person working in accounting might be the perfect person to overhaul the finance applications everyone is required to complete when applying for a divorce (it took 3 months to figure out the online form)

I believe that the probate system is in need of a complete overhaul. Families can not afford to be trapped in a system where it is costing thousands upon thousands to settle divorces, child support, probate wills, name changes and adoptions. The system needs to be user-friendly to the family and efficiently resolve problems & conflict in a timely manner.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Family's can not afford to be trapped in a system where it is costing thousands upon thousands to settle divorces, child support, probate wills, name changes and adoptions. The system needs to be user friendly to the family and efficiently resolve problems and conflict
• Streamlining and expiditing applications making the court process efficiant and user friendly. Having a support network for end users to navagate the system.
• Working with all of the probate courts in Massachusetts to identifi the problems and short falls thus implimenting new practicies and policies that work for the residents.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Term limits are very important to me, a career politician loses touch with how the working families they represent live and struggle with everyday life events. Only by being in the workforce and living the way others do can you appreciate when our legal system works to protect and help families, children, and the elderly live life without fear of being unprotected by rules and laws that work against them.

Education is and should be available to all and shouldn't be limited. Those who have hand-eye coordination, and excel at fixing things from electrical components to installing boilers, should be embraced as key workers in our society. Given the opportunity to go to trade school and excel. Because we all know what happens when the toilet backs up! And, if you have a mind for science this, too, should be nurtured, and teachers should be able to promote these students into higher education regardless of their financial situation.

Healthcare for all. I believe in a universal healthcare system and to remove the insurance companies from the scenario. When the CEO of Blue cross Blue shield makes 19.2 million a year, something is drastically wrong. If the billions that are pumped into the hospitals and doctors offices rather than the insurance companies everyone would benefit. We pay the most in health insurance of any country in the world and have one of the worst systems in the world. This is unacceptable and needs to be changed.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

I frankly do not know why this is an elected position? The register probate should be someone who is hired (or fired) because of their qualifications and their abilities to work with lawyers, law schools, lawmakers, judges, elected officials and community leaders to shape the needs of the population of each states Family courts needs.

I have reviewed many of the different states sites and how easy some of them are too navigate and how others simply demand you must go into the courthouse for any results. We are at an age of technology where we should not be printing out hundreds of pages of paperwork to then be scanned and stored electronically. We also should be working together as a board to build a strong legal system within the state of Massachusetts to best represent what families and residents need.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to strong independent woman who have against all odds made incredible changes to the well-being of others. Who have fought for women's rights equal pay and respect to the workforce. Of course the hot topic right now is Ruth Gaynor Ginsberg and undoubtedly she was a force to be reckoned with.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have a good sense of humor I don't have a problem laughing at myself but I make a mistake.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I actually made a difference I'm people's lives are better because of it.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Their are many events that happened in my lifetime but the one that sticks out of my mind the most was when the Challenger exploded shortly after take off.
I was sitting at work and We have a little television going to watch the launch we are also proud of the group that was going into space and the teacher Christa McAuliffe who is representing the working woman in America. My heart sank and the tears started to flow I just couldn't believe that They were all gone an instant.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked as a cashier in a department store I worked after school and weekends. I vividly remember my first paycheck and how proud I was to have achieved such a goal. I went to my local bank opened my first bank account have my wonderful little savings book. Since I had to walk to work and it was about a mile away my first purchase was a wonderful black 10 speed racing bike and I wrote that bike everywhere I have a job for about two years I remember it fondly.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The lion the witch and wardrobe. It was such a wonderful fantasy to disappear to and as a child and as an adult it still as captivating.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Anne of Green Gables that

The feisty, funny and above all unabashedly passionate Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery. She is a red-haired, freckle-faced orphan who faces the world with absolutely nothing but the sheer force of her personality.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

I prefer not to say because the lyrics are little rude. But it did make me grin. Really I painstakingly do this painstakingly I have been trying to

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have severe dyslexia and I'm probably one of the worst spellers I have ever met.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

Making the system accountable, efficient an accessible to all. People should not be waiting months and more likely years for answers, hearings, decisions and rulings. That the rulings handed down by judges should be enforced efficiently and effectively by our law enforcement officers.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The courts are intimidating and you feel powerless when attempting to navigate them individually. You don't want to step on anyone's toes or ask the wrong questions in fear of being penalized. If you are lucky enough to have an attorney, besides hemorrhaging money you're a cut out of the loop because you're now represented by counsel. Even though in actual fact if anyone knows your case it is you and sometimes an attorney just cannot represent you properly and verbalize what you would like the to know.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

People skills are the most important skill you need for this job. You need to be able to understand the people you work with. You need to understand the fears and stress of the people who are seeking help. You need to be empathetic but realistic because sometimes things don't go according to plan but in the long run they are right. And then completely the opposite everything goes according to plan and it's completely wrong. Knowing there are gray areas that need to be addressed open-minded with the ability to look at both sides.

Again without a doubt people skills

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

• Search Google News for this topic