Dear Governor: Don’t Replace Snipes With A Hack
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Dear Governor,
Looming in your future is one of your most important appointments — Broward County Supervisor of Election.
Your decision could determine the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
So please don’t pick a political hack with no managerial experience!
Don’t choose a new supervisor whose only attribute is loyalty to a political party. Don’t choose someone who is involved in the election process.
Choose someone with a proven record of management achievements.
Of the names that have surfaced so far, that person is Lori Parrish.
Lori Parrish
Yes, Parrish was an elected Democrat for decades, first as a School Board member, then a county commissioner and property appraiser.
But you might not know this, Governor: Parrish was the closest thing to an independent Democrat in office.
For instance, Parrish was a long time supporter of Jim Scott and remains his friend. A Republican icon for being Senate President in the early days of the GOP’s statewide takeover (1994-96), Scott’s campaigns were supported by Parrish without concern for her own political future.
And she has friends among the GOP in Tallahassee. Just ask Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera.
Parrish worked with Lopez-Cantera when he was the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser.
During the dozen years that Parrish ran the Broward Property Appraiser’s Office, no one ever claimed that she favored Democrats. Or Republicans.
Parrish ran a non-partisan office catering to all property owners.
And that’s the key: Parrish ran the property appraiser’s office.
She has a dozen years of significant management experience…in government.
When Parrish took over the property appraiser’s in 2005, it was sleepy with almost no consumer outreach or Internet presence. Appraisals were kept in a file cabinet on index cards.
She refashioned it into a modern and friendly place to do business.
The experience also gave her a taste of the stormy reception Broward Democrats get in Tallahassee. She often had to negotiate with Republicans in Tallahassee for the Broward Property Appraiser’s Office and she did so successfully.
Parrish also has a resume builder that few other political figures can claim — significant management experience in the private sector, running the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop.
No one knows, Governor, what is in your mind. You may want someone we’ve never heard of from the private sector. That’s okay, too.
But, Governor.
Most of all, pick someone who has the ability to administer.
Pick somebody whose skills include hiring the right people. Not just someone who will hire the friends of a friend.
Pick someone who can reform an Elections Office that can’t seem to hold an election.
Pick a real proven manager.
And maybe, just maybe, Broward County and Florida won’t end up a Late Night TV punch line in 2020.
November 20th, 2018 at 10:30 am
buddy. a brilliant suggestion. Lori is the perfect choice
November 20th, 2018 at 10:41 am
Parrish likes to groom successors like Kiar. If Parrish gets his position she needs to promise she will not try to anoint a successor. I heard she has said Amy Rose would make a good choice for SOE.
November 20th, 2018 at 12:07 pm
This postion should be under the county manager supervision.I mean judging by whats been happening down there in recent yrs.You need someone who knows what they are doing or should i state your management team has to know what they are doing.As an elected postion the SOE could virtually be anyone.Yes, this should not be an elected postion.I feel the same way about the Sheriff as well.The county manager should be directly involved.With an 18 mill budget which the county comm approve should rest with them and then under their supervision through the county manager should then hire who they feel would be best for this postion.As far as Mrs.Parrish intetested in being the SOE until the next election etc would probably be the Gov.best choice.She knows the ropes etc.Plus she knows them all.
November 20th, 2018 at 1:01 pm
Buddy, I never thought I’d say this, but you sound naive. The GOP has every incentive to give us another garbage SOE for one simple reason, it helps them win elections.
Broward lags in voter turnout and registration because we’ve had a garbage hack SOE under “doctor” Snipes. Broward consistently lags in registration and turnout compared to Dad and Palm Beach County. Both of their offices make voter registration, education and turnout key goals of their offices.
Under “Doctor” Snipes, we’ve done none of those things. Had Broward turned out the same way other large counties have, we’d have had governor sink or governor crist instead of Scott, and senator Nelson as well.
The GOP in Tally knows this and is happy our elections are mostly shitshows and our turnout remains low because it’s good for them in the long haul. Why else would Rick Scott have not removed Brenda snipes after any of the clusterbomb elections we’ve had down here.
It’s all part of the game.
Lori would be great. She’s a proven turnaround expert. Which is exactly what DeSantis and co. Would never want in Broward.
November 20th, 2018 at 1:48 pm
Thanks for the kind words.
November 20th, 2018 at 2:46 pm
How about a Republican with experience in running a large government bureaucracy like Al Lamberti?
November 20th, 2018 at 3:28 pm
Why do we continue the recycling of the same Broward political people?
November 20th, 2018 at 4:59 pm
Agreed, no more hacks. No more people presenting themselves as administrators but are actually incompetent egoists who must surround themselves with weaker people to make themselves look good.
Lori Parrish could most definitely do the job. She has proven her ability to administrate effectively. However, there must be at least one more person out there who could be just as competent in running the SOE office and is not so deeply entrenched in politics. A knowledge of technology, logistics, human resources, and and adherence of timelines and rules are some of the abilities needed to run an efficient organization.
Please take politics out of the SOE post and appoint an effective administrator until a new elections supervisor can be elected. Please, please let good candidates run. Heaven help us if Snipes reappears on the ballot in 2020. Broward deserves better.
November 20th, 2018 at 5:50 pm
I can’t agree with you more Buddy! Having known and worked for Lori for over twenty years, she is uniquely qualified!
November 20th, 2018 at 5:58 pm
Buddy, you obviously want to use your site to promote your friend, Lori Parrish, to be appointed Supervisor of Elections and she has all the attributes and experience you relate. But you state that the Gov. “should not choose someone who is involved in the election process”. I guess that is your attempt to diminish in your readers eyes the qualifications of others already being considered or talked about. For the last 20 years, Lori’s has opened her home for some of the most successful election fundraising events in the county for candidates she supports and she volunteers for them in others ways, too. She is as involved as anyone in Broward politics and overwhelmingly on the “D” side. Buddy, there are others with the skill set to step in, clean up that office and start restoring voter confidence in all forms of voting. Your list of qualifications for appointment is tailored to promote your friend and only your friend.
November 20th, 2018 at 9:05 pm
Well, Lott Parrish has climb high. The interesting this that every ste of the ladder, it was a different area oh Government, that is knowledge acquired doing and accomplishing different positions vital for the service to the people. She is a Democrat able and willing to serve all the people, not just words but proven actions. Mr. Governor if you want to get Broward County SOE Department running acurrately following the established election laws, you will find Lori Parrish is the person that can accomplish that task. I have disagree with Larry Parrish on beautification maters at the municipal level, however I have follow Lori Parrish accomplishments and they are real. She did indeed made every place she managed a professional environment and public friendly when seeking services from the given department.
November 20th, 2018 at 9:36 pm
Your perfect choice..she wishes to come out of Retirement to help the voters of Broward County..
Truly committed!
November 21st, 2018 at 9:19 am
#6. The new Governor already said he would suspend the current Sheriff Israel. That’s where Al will be going. BSO staff get your resume up to date.
FROM BUDDY:
The “Al” the comment refers to appears to be Al Lamberti, the former sheriff. Lamberti lost his reelection bid to Scott Israel in 2012.
November 21st, 2018 at 11:27 am
someone posted lets take politics out of the process, what, didn’t the people just vote to keep politics as the main criteria, we just voted for an Amendment to do so, why should the people have a sheriff, appraiser, etc., based on merit, we voted for and want politics not ability….. sic transit gloria
November 21st, 2018 at 11:33 am
If Broward wants to keep recycling the old guard, then Broward County will continue to disappoint the Democrats in the County. Lori has always proven to be a solid administrator, but she lacks the ability to be impartial. Sorry, Buddy, you said it yourself, she “helps her friends”.
November 21st, 2018 at 2:43 pm
In Broward County, Fl. We need new efficient polling machines. We need the vote by mail system, to work efficiently. We need someone who will work diligently with the Florida legislators, to secure funding to have a staff, who role is voter out reach, and working voting precints. Ron Desantis, if you want to gain more confidence of the peoppe.Instead of appointing someone, call a special election.
November 22nd, 2018 at 12:31 am
I think LLB has the right idea. The smart play for the Republicans is to appoint an incompetent Democrat, preferable from a minority group, as proof of how colorblind, non-partisan and open-minded they are, but also to ensure that elections will continue to be a mess in the Florida county that contains the most Democrats.
November 22nd, 2018 at 8:06 am
Lori Parrish has the necessary skills, an admirable work ethic and integrity – qualities that even her detractors will admit were evident throughout a long career in public service. As the good folks at Farmers Insurance might put it: she knows a thing or two about a rudderless bureaucracy, because she’s seen a thing or two. Anyone remember the Property Appraiser’s Office before she took the helm? That she is willing to step out of a comfortable retirement and take the reigns under the white hot spotlight of a national media intent on finding a reason to, yet again, brand Broward as the “laughingstock” of our Nation, speaks volumes to her character and commitment to our county and all its citizens.
November 22nd, 2018 at 10:41 am
Lori Parrish – NO
Al Lamberti – HA…he ran BSO into the ground and will never set foot in BSO again (thank god)
Why not Scotty Israel? – He will be unemployed soon.
What we need is someone NOT FROM HERE.
What we need is someone that is not hooked up in Broward dirty politics.
November 23rd, 2018 at 10:20 am
Lori has strong ties with many politicos, on both sides. I am in the political sphere and I have always thought of her as an R because of her strong ties to Bill Scherer. Those ties are very very strong. They socialize and are good friends. SHE might be a D on paper, but I would not have known. She has endorsed many scherer/dipietro picks for judge, instead of others who may have favored her politics. Clearly she will get the appointment because of her ties to Scherer.no doubt. She is certainly competent to do the job. But she, much like Snipes when Bush/Scherer appointed her, will be beholden to her cronies who got her in. Do not fool yourself on this BROWARD County, she will be controlled by the R’s. If the election goes haywire she will be a phone call away from influence by the R’s. A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING. Beware.
November 23rd, 2018 at 3:18 pm
You made me laugh. What a puff-piece. I am getting older and my memory isn’t what it used to be, but I remember Ms. Parish’s tenure on the County Commission. She was and is a professional politician exacting (or at least trying to exact) revenge against those who she perceived as opposing or slighting her. Very thin skinned. I think we have had enough of that kind of politician . . . have we not ? She was known for this and, frankly to her credit, completely owned it. She was proud of her street cred. That’s fine. Politics is a full contact sport. However, to even suggest that she should be in a position to guard the integrity of the election process is ludicrous at best and frightening at worst. This is not the same thing as being the Property Appraiser. Putting all that aside, I don’t know what the pension implications would be for the taxpayers of Broward County were she to ascend to that position. That said, you are correct that the SOE has been, for years, in desperate need of proper administrative supervision. Notwithstanding her record as Property Appraiser, Ms. Parrish is not the right person for that job.
November 23rd, 2018 at 4:52 pm
Parrish did it before with the property appraisers office. Who else can say that?
November 23rd, 2018 at 4:54 pm
When somebody suggests a businessman or retired CEO runs the election office, I remember that is the same cry I heard about the presidency and governor. We got Donald Trump and Rick Scott.
November 25th, 2018 at 9:02 pm
Lori Parrish would make an excellent SOE, and at this point in her life, she isn’t looking for the next step up the political ladder. She is free to be her own person.
November 30th, 2018 at 11:56 am
Lori Parrish is a Republican and Democrat in name only. A “politician exacting (or at least trying to exact) revenge against those who she perceived as opposing or slighting her. Very thin skinned.” “Mrs. Parrish is not the right person for that job.”
November 30th, 2018 at 6:17 pm
Well Gov. Scott took care of this with a big broom –
https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/11/30/scott-suspends-browards-controversial-election-chief-before-she-can-quit-early-721671
“Scott’s team and insiders from Broward County to Tallahassee believe that Snipes‘ replacement, Antonacci, will probably “clean house,” said the source familiar with Scott’s thinking.
December 6th, 2018 at 7:20 pm
Kindly do NOT confuse CON ARTIST Donald Trump with a BUSINESSMAN. He failed as a developer then a casino operator. He is A MARKETER or SALESMAN but NEVER A BUSINESSMAN
December 15th, 2018 at 4:36 pm
In 2003 Gov. Jeb Bush yanked and replaced Snipes’ predecessor, Miriam Oliphant, who was never accused of fraud or defying a judge’s order — and that’s a whole lot less than Snipes pulled on Canova. Of course, then Jeb gave us Snipes, but I believe it was a case of a red governor trying to keep the faith with a blue cou nty.
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