The Tennessean ran a story on the voter data theft today, and seemed to have done some investigating into the break-in. There was security, but it was woefully inadequate. Motion sensors were never installed on the windows, even though the election commission resides on the ground floor. And as I suspected, there is a Kathy Deshotels connection

Barrett also confirmed that one of the computers was taken from under the desk of Kathy Charlton-Deshotels, an election commission employee who was fired and reinstated in 2003. Barrett said earlier this week that the computer was left unsecured because it was being repaired.

In 2003, Charlton-Deshotels downloaded a Republican employee’s computer files and found partisan comments at the request of Democratic election commissioner Eddie Bryan, who is now the commission’s chairman. Bryan said the Republican employee was using city computers for partisan political activity.

Charlton-Deshotels was fired that December but was reinstated under the settlement of a federal lawsuit she filed.

The employee referred to, Sharon Wood, was exonerated. It was her job to find Republican poll workers. Eddie Bryan is an AFL-CIO henchman, and is currently the only lobbyist on an election commission in Tennessee (lobbyists on election commissions are now prohibited by state law, but somehow someone in the legislature thought it wise to grandfather in those lobbyists already on commissions when the law was passed).

So far, leadership from inside the commission itself comes from Lynn Greer, one of the two Republican election commissioners

Lynn Greer, a Republican on the election commission, said Wednesday that Charlton-Deshotels should be fired.

“If they are doing an investigation, why is she not taking responsibility for this?” Greer said. “This is the same employee we had so many problems with four years ago. … This is not the first incident. She is absolutely incompetent.”

Incomprehensibly, Eddie Bryan had this to say

Bryan said he didn’t “see anybody losing their job.”

Wait. Two laptops with the most sensitive data in the city are stolen, one was apparently unlocked in a drawer in someone’s desk, and no one is going to lose their job? Wow. That’s accountability for you.

More confirmation from the Nashville City Paper

An Election Commission official told The City Paper Monday that protocol for storing laptops containing voter information was not followed prior to the break-in.

Election Administrator Ray Barrett said the laptops were supposed to be under lock and key in a cabinet, but were left out after undergoing maintenance and testing by the Metro IT department.

So, really, Chairman Bryan - no one is going to lose their job? Disgusting.