Just In....Update on Election Commission Break-in!

I just received a call from Lionel Barrett (lionel.barrett@nashville.gov) of the Metro Election Commission. I am not sure of any relations to Ray Barrett of the Metro Election Commission. Nonetheless, Mr. Barrett contacted me in response to some suggestions that I provided in my email response to Mr. Light, regarding the recent break in at the Metro Election Commission. Mr. Barrett wanted to address my email and is the appointed public information officer to speak directly with the callers about the recent break-in at the Election Commission. This is what I have learned: 1)The Election Commission has received approval to conduct a first class notification mailer to voters that will inform them about the unfortunate occurrence. Voters should be receiving the letter by end of this week. (Please know that I have asked for a draft of the letter to be provided at tomorrow meeting of the Metro Council Public Safety Committee.) 2)As of this past Monday, the Election Commission has sent a letter to all (3) three credit bureaus notifying them of the mishap. (I wonder if this letter could not have been provided by email for faster notification and response. Maybe we should sponsor legislation that would require notification to be done by the fastest means in the interest of public safety for the greater good. I have asked for legal of the metro council to look into this and require that the three (3) credit bureaus be required to provide direct contact for such occurrence that affects a larger number of consumers.) 3)This morning (January 2, 2008), Metro General Services conducted a walk through of the Election Commission office to see if any other areas of the building had been impacted. It is their consensus that this was not an inside job. The window that the burglar(s) chose just happened to be close to the computer that was being reviewed. There were other items taken such as a desktop radio. It is believed that there was no indication that they were after the laptop computer with the personal information on it. Council members have been invited to also tour the offices of the Election Commission on tomorrow at 2:30 pm. I plan to attend. 4)TCA 47-18-2107 (believed to be effective July 1, 2006) requires notification to consumers regarding such occurrences. Additionally in accordance with the law, restitution could also be provided if there is proof of financial loss. There appears to be a 90 day window that free credit monitoring is to be provided but also additional credit monitoring may be required. government agencies are not exempted from this law. 5)The Election Commission is working on removing all Social Security numbers from all data entries that they have. This is on-going and we should hear more this initiative. Mr. Lionel Barrett states that he will speak directly with anyone with concerns by calling him at 880-2561. I know that this does nothing to address what has already happened. But you need to get as much as information as possible and know that the potential future of any occurrences will be address simultaneously. Stay tuned.