Administrator announces retirement; elections office outlines move, security upgrades and staffing changes

Jeff Roberts, the administrator of elections, told the Davidson County Election Commission he intends to retire in December and outlined steps to manage the office transition, facility move and security upgrades. Roberts said the office is moving to new space on the third floor of the Airways Plaza building and that plans and furniture selections are in progress. He said the move is likely to occur in mid-to-late February, later than initially hoped, and that the office is working with general services to ensure the transition will not confuse the public during pre-election mailings and absentee ballot distribution. On security, Roberts said the commission and staff are meeting weekly with general services, Metro IT, the sheriff’s office and Metro Police Department to plan card-swipe access points, reception glass and stand-up security posts; the office is also considering metal-detector-style stands for commission meetings and multiple layers of access to secure ballots. “A lot of discussion is going on right now to make sure we've dotted i's and crossed t's on security for not only the ballots, but for our staff also,” he said. Roberts announced an internal promotion: Alex Mitchell will be elevated to the executive staff to focus on list maintenance tasks, including handling state data matches (Department of Safety citizenship flags, Social Security Administration deceased-person matches and other data files) and deciding when it is appropriate to remove registrants from the rolls. Roberts said he will work with Metro HR to help recruit and onboard a successor and offered to overlap with a new hire after the appointment to transfer institutional knowledge. Commissioners discussed process options; legal staff advised that Roberts may consult HR and prepare materials but that formal commission actions or votes must occur at a publicly noticed meeting. Commissioners agreed Roberts should begin working with Metro HR and that the commission would schedule a meeting as needed—Sept. 5 was set as the next regular meeting with the possibility of an earlier call-of-chair meeting. Staff comments at the meeting praised Roberts. Rick Brown, finance manager, thanked Roberts for leadership and recommended the commission consider staff input in selecting a successor. Roberts said he would make himself available to mentor the next administrator to ease the transition.