How Much Are The Candidates Worth?
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The candidates vying to count Broward’s votes have done a good job of counting their own money.
Broward Supervisor of Elections candidates Mitch Ceasar, Jennifer Gottlieb and Tim Lonergan are millionaires.
Tim Lonergan
Chad Klitzman, who is 26 hasn’t had time to build an estate. But he will be able to put plenty away based on his salary last year — $156,866 in less than 10 months last year working for a New York City law firm.
The new job running Broward’s election office earns roughly $180,000 and comes with a generous pension.
The financial disclosures for the candidates covering last year (rounded to the nearest dollar by Browardbeat) are below. The incomes are annual incomes. They are :
- Ceasar had a net worth of $3.253 million and an income of $104,787 from his solo Plantation law firm.
- Klitzman had a net worth of $91,044 and an income of $156,866 from less than 10 months of legal work.
- Gottlieb had a net worth of $2.730 million and $123,018 in income from the State of Florida, investments and her consulting business.
- Lonergan had a net worth of $1.033 million and an income of roughly $98,585 from a health care company and the City of Oakland Park, where he is a commissioner.
- Ruth Carter-Lynch has a net worth of $121,500 and an income of $83,820 from her consulting business and Social Security.
- Joe Scott had a net worth of $309,530 and a net income of $113,416 from his job at Ricoh USA and income property.
A major asset for most of the candidates was their homes, no surprise in a real estate market like Broward County. Some candidates owned other property, such as Gottlieb’s $453,346 investment in a share of a vacation home in the Florida Keys. Lonergan owned a building in Milwaukee he valued at $207,800.
Three of the older candidates — Ceasar, Gottlieb and Lonergan — had significant investments other than real estate such as stocks and bonds. Much of it was in self-directed pensions.
Ceasar had $2.3 million in investments, while Gottlieb had $1.7 million and Lonergan had $772,800 in investment accounts.
The Sheriff
The relative financial health of the Supervisor of Elections candidates contrast with the Broward campaign that is spending the most to win — Sheriff Greg Tony.
The sheriff had a negative net worth of -$21,288, mostly due to education loans. He reported a net income as sheriff of $172,475.
His primary opponent, former Sheriff Scott Israel, had a net worth of $698,051, with income from his Fort Lauderdale police pension of $72,615 and $13,000 from consulting.
Sheriff’s candidate Al Pollock had a $282,919 net worth with income of $93,000 from a state-run pension and $18,566 from the Department of the Treasury.
Clerk of The Courts
Clerk of the Courts candidate Paul Backman reported a net worth of $3.783 million. His biggest asset is his condo in Hollywood, which he values at $2.1 million. He reported an income of $34,249 from Social Security and $137,143 from his state retirement earned because for decades he was a judge in Broward.
Incumbent Clerk Brenda Forman valued her net worth at $63,310 and her income from the Clerk’s office at $179,867.
Candidate Mark Speiser had a net worth of $2.486 million, all of it in pension, investment accounts, money markets and savings bonds. He had a net income of $255,869 from investments and his pension.
August 16th, 2020 at 4:24 pm
None of them are worth two cents if they do not do the job to which they are elected honestly, competently, and fairly.
Case in point; Brenda Forman.
August 17th, 2020 at 8:26 am
That net worth on Forman must be wrong. If she makes almost $180000 a year for the last 3 1/2 years that’s around $600000. Taking out taxes and living expenses she should have a minimum of $200000 to $300000 in net worth, assuming after her divorce from Howard that she had nothing.
So explain why she has only $63000? Bad management of investments, overspending, or underreporting?
FROM BUDDY:
No explanations are offered in the filing documents. That figure is what she claims is her net worth.
August 17th, 2020 at 9:21 am
Jen Jen must have gotten her net worth from her ex husband in a divorce. She never had a job long enough that paid enough to compile that amount of money. Her ex husband’s family were wealthy.
FROM BUDDY:
The source of candidate’s net worth is not required to be disclosed.
Jennifer Gottlieb’s divorce from her former husband Kenneth Gottlieb is sealed and the financial terms are not available on the Internet.
Kenneth Gottlieb, a Broward County Judge and former state representative, is part of a Hollywood family of real estate investors. He is the one who filed for divorce in June 2012.
August 17th, 2020 at 1:04 pm
I don’t it’s necessary to indulge any financial.I mean to run for elected office I see.no reason why I should have to publicize your net worth.I wouldn’t.None of people’s business how any elected official or canidate is worth.These pensions are the real story here.Unreal..
August 17th, 2020 at 4:24 pm
#2 – Simple explanation… Undoubtedly, Brenda Forman does not have a clue how to manage money; just like she has no clue how to manage the Clerk’s office!