Gov. Scott Appointees Get No Opposition Despite Widespread Threats
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Democratic and attorney groups huffed and puffed for the past year about challenging every judge recently appointed by Gov. Rick Scott.
So far….nothing.
At least in Broward County Court.
Two recent Scott appointees — Michael Davis and Jennifer Wigand Hilal — remain unopposed in the 2018 election.
The two are part of Scott’s effort to remake the judiciary with young well-qualified appointees. Davis and Hilal are in their 30s.
Jennifer Wigand Hilal
“Both are known as very good judges,” a political consultant and lawyer who has no involvement in the campaigns, Michael Ahearn, said.
Appointed May 2016, Davis is a former senior assistant attorney general under Attorney General Pam Bondi. He graduated from Hofstra University law school in 2004.
Hilal worked as a prosecutor for State Attorney Mike Satz after her graduation from Nova Southeastern law school in 2008. She stayed with Satz until she was appointed to the bench in September 2016.
Davis is a family court judge. He has reported no contributions yet. But his filing documents contain indications of political strength which may discourage opponents.
Michael Davis
One of his campaign treasurers is Aleida “Ali” Waldman, a veteran political player and general counsel and longtime girlfriend of multi-millionaire entrepreneur Ron Bergeron. The other is Joey Epstein, another well-connected downtown Fort Lauderdale political player stretching back decades.
Hilal is a civil and criminal court judge in the West Broward Courthouse.
She also has some heavyweight veteran political support from, among others, defense attorneys Eric Schwartzreich and Howard Greitzer, über lobbyist Ron Book and former Property Appraiser Lori Parrish.
Hilal already has reported $172,968 in her campaign. She loaned her campaign $100,000 with a great deal of the rest coming from members of her family.
“No one has outworked Judge Hilal,” Ahearn said. “She has touched bases with almost every elected official and lawyer who counts.”
Davis and Hilal have no opposition.
That means that the chatter from members of the T. J. Reddick Bar, other legal groups and Democratic activists to challenge them amounts little more than empty threats.
And isn’t that what lawyers are good at? They spout sound and fury which in the end signifies nothing.
December 14th, 2017 at 2:54 pm
You mean this Ahearn?
A state commission has found that Broward County Judge Claudia Robinson’s showering of lucrative judicial appointments to former top campaign adviser Michael Ahearn “created the appearance of impropriety and favoritism” and recommended that she be suspended from the bench for the violations.
The guy is such a hack the only way he can get clients is to have his candidates lend him favors. Talk about sleazy. His gossip or opinion isn’t worth a dime.
FROM BUDDY:
Although some would say he was greedy to accept a large number of appointments from his former client, he has not been accused of wrongdoing to date.
Ahearn is the only one I quoted, but the story is based on numerous courthouse sources.
Ahearn is a babe in the woods. There are a number of Broward campaign consultants (They will go nameless here, but these transgressions have all been publicized.) who have been convicted of serious crimes and have done jail time. If I go looking for a squeaky clean person intimately involved as a professional in Broward political campaigns, I would be looking for a long time….unfortunately.
December 14th, 2017 at 7:28 pm
Don.t fool yourself.Ahearn is being investigated as well.I would nail him as an assessory…