Republican Karla Skoczylas (left) will challenge incumbent Democrat Derrick Quinney in the Ingham County Register of Deeds race.

Know the Candidates: Incumbent Derrick Quinney is Challenged by Karla Skoczylas

In the lead up to the Nov. 5 election, ELi will bring you articles highlighting the choices for state- and county-wide election. We seek to interview each of the major candidates for these offices and share an objective look at their backgrounds and goals for office.

Today, we focus on the Ingham County Register of Deeds. With its administrative offices in the county seat of Mason, the office records, indexes and retains “documents that convey or encumber real estate located within the county.”

A headshot of Derrick Quinney. (Courtesy of Ingham County Register of Deeds Office)

Derrick Quinney

Derrick Quinney is a lifelong resident of Lansing and has served as Ingham County’s Register of Deeds since 2015, when he took over for Curtis Hertel, who was elected to the state senate. His reason for wanting to serve in his current capacity, however, comes from his family’s roots in Louisiana.

“My grandparents were able to amass a considerable amount of property,” he explained to ELi in a phone interview. “Upon their [passing], the property goes to my parents’ generation and when it got to mine, things started to get a little crazy.”

He explained that his grandparents left little in writing, instead leaving just verbal instructions about their wishes.

“They never saw the value in wills and deeds and trusts and all that,” he said. “Well, it got so nasty, so ugly, that divisions started happening between family members.”

Quinney previously served on the Lansing City Council.

When asked to explain what a Register of Deeds does, he starts his explanation with a history lesson beginning in 1837 when Michigan earned statehood. Essentially, he says the Register of Deeds records all land ownership throughout time.

“You can do title searches, you can do land searches, you can do genealogy,” he said. “We record those documents and maintain them for organizations, lending organizations, title companies, [and] anyone else who might need to access the information.”

Quinney told ELi about his biggest endeavor over the last nine years: educating the public about the importance of his office.

“Land purchasing, particularly of homes, will be one of the largest investments we’ll make,” he said. “Unfortunately, when folks come here after they’ve lost a loved one or gone through a divorce, they’ll say they want to have a name transferred to that deed. Unfortunately, at that time, it’s too late.”

He and his staff have worked to inform the public about how land transfer works and the importance of estate planning.

“I’m proud to be a public servant,” he said. “I still enjoy it, the fire is still lit. I enjoy educating our constituents so they better understand and are better prepared for when they come to our office.”

A headshot of Karla Skoczylas. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Karla Skoczylas

Karla Skoczylas now calls Holt home, but grew up in East Lansing, graduating from East Lansing High School in 1975 before earning a general associate’s degree from Lansing Community College.  

She was first elected to serve as a precinct delegate in 2022 for Delphi Township to the Ingham County Republican Party Convention, and was reelected in 2024.

“I get to talk to people and get a feeling of what people are thinking,” she said. “I can learn what issues they care about and what they’re worried about.”

Before entering politics, Skoczylas worked in management at General Motors for 31 years, starting out at the Lansing Fisher Body Plant as a union member and eventually a supervisor. She worked with the Pontiac Grand Am before production ceased in 2005 and she and other supervisors were sent to Fisher Body Plant in Flint.

“It was the home of the sit down strike and I was managing 30 people,” she told ELi in a phone interview.

Skoczylas retired in 2008 when the company offered buyouts during the Great Recession. 

“It was a good time to move on,” she said.

When asked why she decided to run to become Ingham County’s Register of Deeds, she considered her answer before responding.

“I saw there was an opening there,” she said. “I‘ve been down to the Register of Deeds’ [office] and saw what they’re doing and saw somewhere I could make an impact. This is something I could do. I’m used to working with people, a lot of people. I’ve always been that person to try to do the right thing. People don’t always like it that much, but maintaining records and helping people is an important thing.”

She admits the office isn’t one for which people typically campaign, but said she’s heard complaints from various townships in the county and restrictions placed on property.

“I will look at the issues and see how I could address them,” she said. “I pay attention to details and I always strive to do the right thing, not necessarily the easy thing. Maintaining records of property deeds is a very important thing.”