Ex-poll worker trainer chosen as Davidson elections chief

By G. Chambers Williams III • THE TENNESSEAN • November 4, 2010 Albert Tieche, a University of Tennessee consultant based in Nashville, will be offered the job of Davidson County elections administrator, the county Election Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday. He will replace retiring administrator Ray Barrett in the post, which is responsible for running Nashville's elections, managing a $3.5 million annual budget and supervising 21 full-time employees. Tieche, who trained the commission's poll workers under contract from 2003 to 2008, was one of seven applicants interviewed by the five commissioners — three Republicans and two Democrats — last week. At Wednesday afternoon's meeting, Republican Commissioner Steve Abernathy made the motion to hire Tieche, and it passed with little discussion. The commission also authorized its chairman, Republican Lynn Greer, to negotiate a starting annual salary from $82,500 to $85,000 a year with Tieche. After Tieche passes a state elections administrator's certification exam, his annual salary will rise to at least $96,000, the commissioners said. Barrett, who has held the job for the past six years, makes $103,000 a year. He will leave the office at the end of the year. Commissioners said they'd like to bring Tieche on board within the next two weeks so he can work through a transition period. His appointment is contingent on passing a comprehensive background check. That will include a detailed examination of Tieche's education and work record. Tieche is author of a training manual for poll workers that the election commission has used in the past, Greer said.