Judge Recommends Fine for Former Broward Elections Chief

Tampa Bay Online ^ | Aug 31, 2005 | Associated Press

[JoeSixPack1]

Judge Recommends Fine for Former Broward Elections Chief The Associated Press Published: Aug 31, 2005 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - An administrative judge recommended that the state fine former Broward County elections supervisor Miriam Oliphant $2,000 because of the botched 2002 primary.

Judge Claude Arrington in Tallahassee ruled that Oliphant willfully neglected her duty because dozens of polls did not open on time and closed early in Broward County on the 2002 gubernatorial primary.

The state Elections Commission had proposed a $55,000 fine, but Arrington said that was too harsh since she has lost her job and faces financial problems, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

Arrington recommended a fine of $2,000, but if it had to be exceeded it should be no more than $10,000.

"They have gone out of their way to be as punitive as possible," said Henry Hunter, Oliphant's attorney. "I still do not believe Ms. Oliphant has been treated fairly. She relied on her staff to get the job done."

The Elections Commission filed the charges against Oliphant in last year after Gov. Jeb Bush suspended her for incompetence and mismanagement.

A report by Special Master Steve Kahn, released in January after a trial in the Senate, found that Oliphant was guilty of "grave and frequent neglect, gross ignorance of official duties and gross carelessness" while in office.

Oliphant ran a deficit of more than $936,000 and lost 268 absentee ballots in the 2002 primary that were later found in a filing cabinet, the report said. In addition, 23 polling places in Broward County opened late in 2002 and 32 closed early.

Oliphant, who lost a bid for re-election in last year's Democratic primary, has argued that underfunding by the Broward County Commission and sabotage by subordinates caused the problems in 2002.

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Information from: South Florida Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com

AP-ES-08-31-05 2200EDT

[Ken522]

This judgement stinks - Oliphant should serve prison time for what she tried to pull off.

[Quinotto]

The title should actually read: Judge Recommends Fine for Former Broward Elections Thief

As a Broward resident myself I can assure you that Oliphant was an inept and obnoxious woman. She managed her office as if it was her kitchen, with no respect to the rules. I am in healthcare and I remember running into her at a local hospital once. She got out of a brand new BMW Z4 Roadster and I couldn't help myself and asked her "Excuse me, where's my vote?", following reports of found hidden boxes and boxes of uncounted mailed ballots during the gubernatorial elections (and as it happened, I sent mine by mail). She gave me a dirty look, accompanied by an expletive racist comment where the word Republican was also mentioned. Shortly after that, during an interview, she actually had the audacity to claim that Gov Bush removed her from office based on racism, chauvinism and for political motivation. Funny enough, she was replaced by Brenda Snipes, a much more capable supervisor of elections, who also happens to be black and a woman, so Oliphant's reasons are plain rhetoric.

MIRIAM OLIPHANT

[dennisw]

Mariam Oliphant is one foxy lady. Her looks got her as far as she got. The negative is she is a liar, refuses to take responsibility, doesn't have the brain power to do a good job.

[Joe Boucher]

This woman is a black supremicist plain and simple and she was trying to use her position to advance to the level in society she felt she belonged at.
She and her staff were incompetant.
They failed to hold even reasonable elections.
She fired staff that were competant because they most often would go against her stupid hijinks.
Her staff was accused of using autos and cell phones for personnal business etc etc.

[dennisw]

She got out of a brand new BMW Z4 Roadster....

For this moron it was all about the bling bling. She lost the highest paying job she'll ever latch onto. No wonder this parasite is pissed off.

[JoeSixPack1]

I can't put the words together to properly insult this &itch.

Every negetive political stereotype and every form of gov't corruption was practiced and perfected by this creep before Jeb finally stepped in and booted her out.

The voters of Broward County who elected her should be subjected to comprehensive brain scans before ever being allowed to vote again!!

What a disgrace.

[JoeSixPack1]

"Excuse me, where's my vote?"

Outstanding! :-)

[dennisw]

This woman is a black supremicist plain and simple and she was trying to use her position to advance to the level in society she felt she belonged at.

 EXACTLY. But she's a moron and belongs in the underclass with her sister who was doing a booty shaking dance out in the median of a main street, demonstrating for her when Miriam was under attack. Just before Miriam got fired from the job

She even gave her mother an election day job watching the polls. It pays ~$125. But first Oliphant had to open up that job by firing a crippled white woman who loved that job. For whom it was the big day of the year. I'm not making this up. I live in Broward

[Joe Boucher]

I was suprised that Gov. Bush finally made the move to fire her. Being that she is black and as a politician you don't wish to upset any constituancy but then the black community doesn't vote for the bush boys anyway.
I'm up in Port St. Lucie. Just far enough north to where most folks here speak english.

[dennisw]

I was suprised that Gov. Bush finally made the move to fire her. Being that she is black and as a politician you don't wish to upset any constituancy....

That's why it took months on end for Gov Bush to fire her. She got fired only after she alienated a lot of prominent blacks and they turned against her.

[Quinotto]

Mariam Oliphant is one foxy lady. Her looks got her as far as she got.

I am not sure of what foxy looks you are talking about but Oliphant got where she got due to her DNC connections. Miriam Oliphant was on the School Board (where she was later found out that she used an address ilegally only to be able to run for that particular district) and she was advanced to the Supervisor of Elections by her Democratic buddies (Broward being a stronghold Democratic county).

[dennisw]

Right you are that Miriam Oliphant was a creature of the Broward and Florida Democratic party. She was the highest black elected official in Broward and was going places until she FUBARED two elections here. Her office was chock full of patronage hires. She fired competent people to bring in her hacks who were family and friends

[operation clinton cleanup]

Mariam Oliphant is one foxy lady

Are we talking about the same Miriam Oliphant?

[dennisw]

yep.... foxy for her age

[lepton]

bookmark bump

[Mrs Zip]

ping

[SpinyNorman]

Hmmm, Miriam Oliphant, the Democrat vote mangler, Thomas Oliphant, liberal, effeminate, Globe Washington bureau cheif and Kerry licker, and seditious cartoonist Oliphant.

Are they all related? This cannot bode well for the Oliphant surname!