The hopefuls eyeing the Suffolk Register of Deeds position have crystallized into a group of ten, several of whom have strong Dorchester ties. The candidates, some seasoned campaigners and others running as fresh faces, are touting their local involvement and fundraising chops.

Long a quietly held post with sleepy campaigns, the register position – six years at $124,000 per overseeing property transactions in Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop with a staff of clerks – became vacant last December when Francis “Mickey” Roache of Dorchester resigned after 13 years in office.

The race took a turn for the tense on Monday, when candidate Katherine Forde, a Roslindale paralegal, sent off an email to supporters singling out former Boston City Councillor Stephen Murphy with the subject line “Voters are ready for an alternative to Steve Murphy.’‘

In the email, Forde said supporters tired of serial campaigners had contributed over $10,000 to her race. “The message I keep hearing from voters is that they are excited to see a fresh face running for the office,” she wrote.

In another email, this one to the Boston Globe, Forde declared that constituents deserve a “genuine voice” and not “an opportunist who is running for a paycheck and the pension.’’

Murphy, who served on the Council beginning in 1997 until he lost a reelection bid last November, has previously run unsuccessfully for sheriff, state treasurer, and state representative.

In a statement, Murphy later called the comments “nothing but a cheap political attack from a candidate [who] is also running for the vacancy in the office of Register of Deeds.” He noted that his campaign kicked off at Florian Hall on May 17 with 300 people in attendance. “I have a terrific team of campaign volunteers who have been working very hard across Suffolk County with me and getting a fantastic response,” he added. “We have been very busy putting up signs, knocking on doors, making phone calls and meeting as many voters as we can. I am energized by the tremendous support and look forward to a spirited campaign over the next several months.”

Paul Nutting, a longtime civic leader in Columbia-Savin Hill, launched his campaign on Tuesday evening at Boston Winery in Port Norfolk. More than 100 supporters, including many civic and business leaders, listened as he made his case, with City Councillor Annissa Essaibi-George at his side.

“I am not a perennial candidate. In fact, the only office I’ve ever run for is Columbia-Savin Hill Civic president,” Nutting said to laughter, adding, “I would be in office full time. This office should be held by someone who pays attention to the details and sees interacting with the communities of Suffolk County as the path to success for all residents.”

Essaibi-George said Nutting was “perfectly suited” for the register’s position, noting his 20-year career in land and record management.

A fixture at community events across the county in recent months, Nutting said he has assembled a team of field operatives to knock on doors and identify voters ahead of the September primary. “I have to explain to people what the office does. I have to explain to them that the election is on a Thursday this year,” he said. “I just try to explain to people my qualification and my extensive community involvement.”

Another familiar face on the election circuit, Lower Mills resident and attorney Stephanie Everett, said in a phone interview that she is busy educating voters on what the register does and is uninterested in making other candidates the focus of her campaign. “There’s ten of us in the race, and there’s one person who is qualified,” Everett said. “That’s me.”

A former aide to state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, Everett previously ran unsuccessfully for the District 3 City Council seat now occupied by Frank Baker and for the 12th Suffolk House seat won by Dan Cullinane.

Everett said the 2016 race is a “180-degree difference from the past election,” and she is ramping up her candidacy with a new campaign manager and the setting up of a campaign structure. She hopes to involve homeowner resources in the deeds positions, noting that purchasing a home is a critical milestone for families and individuals. “Every position you vote for should have some advocacy attached,” she said.

Many-time candidate for public office Douglas Bennett, who lives in the Pope’s Hill neighborhood, said in an email that his “campaign has been very strong and the reception and support has been great! I have already visited nearly 12,000 Democrats across Suffolk County since March 7,” he wrote, citing as evidence of his support base the proliferation of his distinctive green and white “Bennett for Register of Deeds” signs on properties across the county.

According to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, the list of candidates consists of Democratic candidates Murphy, Bennett, Everett, Forde, Nutting, Jeffrey Michael Ross, and Michael B. Mackan, who has run unsuccessfully for the Deeds seat in the past. Also on the ballot this year are three unenrolled candidates, Joseph M. Donnelly Jr., Margherita Ciampa-Coyne, and John Keith.