Posted on 09/22/2002 4:44:12 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
From the post-election muck of the past two weeks, with all the mud flying back and forth, who emerges from the Broward County swamp with the cleanest profile?
Perhaps the smartest politician in town: Sheriff Ken Jenne.
With a steady -- but not a heavy -- hand, he dispatched deputies on Election Day to troubled polls, served as a confidant for Secretary of State Jim Smith, plotted with county commissioners and repeatedly offered assistance to beleaguered Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant.
In a carefully calculated effort, he walked the line between selling her out and appearing as her close ally.
Instead of publicly denouncing Oliphant's conduct, he met with her privately to see which problems he could help rectify. Instead of publicly berating her to accept the county's deal to run the election, he made his plea over the telephone.
On Thursday, he got his political reward: a made-for-television photo opportunity with Smith thanking his deputies for their work on Election Day. (Their relationship dates back to Tallahassee in the 1980s, when Jenne was a state senator and Smith was attorney general.)
Expect Jenne to play a key role in planning the Nov. 5 election, influencing events, making his achievements known but carefully resisting the appearance of a power-grabber.
Yup! Sheriff Ken-Ken (all 5'1" of him---in elevator shoes) is definitely pulling a Clinton.
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