BBV: Florida battler in Broward county raising a stink

[althecat]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-celect18oct18,0,2165297.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines


Oliphant calls for investigation into the county’s purchase of new voting equipment

By Scott Wyman
Staff writer
Posted October 18 2003

Broward County Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant is seeking a state investigation into the county's purchase of new voting equipment in a move critics denounce as an attempt to divert attention from her office turmoil.

Oliphant wrote state Attorney General Charlie Crist this week asking him to investigate whether county commissioners violated any law when they signed a $17.2 million contract to buy touch-screen voting machines two years ago. She raised questions about the bidding process, the lobbying fees that were paid by the competing firms and the deal's controversial minority subcontracts.


MORE AT LINK ABOVE

[DUreader]

1. kick

[sunscreened]

2. Oliphant has kept Broward elections in chaos

I really don't understand what she is doing here. Could she really be this incompetent? The Commissioners asked Jeb to remove her prior to the 2002 election and he refused (this I understand since she suits his purpose).

About 3 weeks ago the Commission decided to have a study looking into the voter verified paper. I called my commissioner and asked to be on the panel. Was referred to County Admin. office where they will do the study. I was told it would be an "inside study".

Then, this week Jeb's posse came in to "investigate". People from SOS office, 3 other Elections Supervisors and the ES&S lobbyist. With my tinfoil hat tightly on, I am sure it was to circumvent the "inside study".

From the above article: "ES&S's local lobbyist, Russ Klenet, also attacked Oliphant's call for a new probe as unwarranted and politically motivated. If she spent as much time planning and being ready to run elections in Broward as she does complaining about the commission and the machines, her office would be in much better shape."

I guess I am afraid her credibility is so shot that this will not get the attention locally that it should.

BTW, many thanks for all of your efforts on our behalf, you and the BBV activists are the best! Soon as Bev's email is back will "opt in" because Broward is hot right now and sunscreened needs all the help she can get down here right now!

[DEMActivist]

3. Sounds like Broward has

their own R. Doug Lewis.

ES&S's local lobbyist, Russ Klenet, also attacked Oliphant's call for a new probe as unwarranted and politically motivated.

If they can't attack the real question ("junk shit" machines), they attack the person.

[starroute]

6. More on Russ Klenet

I Googled his name -- and came up with a lot of items that I don't have enough knowledge of Florida politics to understand. But here's one that jumped out at me:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-cpol27sep27,0,7335622.column?coll=sfla-news-col

The lead lobbyist for ES&S was Russ Klenet, who supports a number of the commissioners. He is closest to Commissioner Ilene Lieberman.

He was one of the few insiders who backed Lieberman's first commission bid in 1996. Klenet continues to raise campaign contributions for her as finance co-chairman for her 2004 re-election.

Lieberman declined an interview to discuss the purchase of the ES&S machines. She agreed to answer questions in writing.

She called Klenet "a friend and supporter." When asked what role he played in her purchase of the machines, she answered in one word: "None."

The lobbyist was paid $62,500 for his work and says he got a continuing contract with ES&S to lobby in places like New York. It's part of $1.3 million in lobbyist fees that ES&S paid to market its machines in Tallahassee and Broward.

Klenet is one of several ES&S lobbyists. Commissioner Ben Graber, who did not vote for ES&S, called the purchase "a lobbyist feeding frenzy."


It also seems that Klenet is married to a Florida state representative, Stacy J. Ritter.

http://www.myfloridahouse.com/legislatorinfo.aspx?mid=4122

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Why the F** are counties purchasing and not the state?

seems to me it just helps to perpetutate the "equal protection" (or lack thereof) arguement when every county has a different fucking method of voting etc, etc, etc... The continued incompetence AFTER Florida 2000 is even more astounding in its complete ignorance of history.

AND...it gives Jebby an "out" when he steals the vote for his brother AGAIN!!!

[DEMActivist]

5. It depends on how the laws are written in each state

Some state laws make the county responsible for the decision.

Georgia's law was changed to give the state the authority to choose the voting system and force it on the counties.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. A state should have the same type of voting machine throughout

all exactly the same to insure "equal protection"

[ParanoidPat]

7. Go Miriam!

You just have to wonder if the alleged "office turmoil" is an attempt to divert attention from the controversy surrounding the purchase of the touch screens. :evilgrin:

On second thought, naah, you don't have to wonder! :)

[BevHarris]

8. You are right, Pat -- they have been scapegoating her

I started to look into what was really going on with Oliphant -- the jist of it is, when she didn't play ball with the boys in power, they started to trash her, visciously.

She wanted Sequoia equipment, which was also unauditable, so she wasn't the paragon of perfection in this, but wow -- when you do a comprehensive Lexis-Nexis search and actually read what they did to her, keeping the timeline in mind, it was basically them saying "my way or the highway" and then attempting to retaliate when she stood her ground.

The press can be used as a weapon for retaliation, as well as for truth.

Bev

[JCMach1]

10. Crist is a Repuke of the worst order... nothing

will come of this...

:puke: