If You Found $2,000, What Would You Do?
By Buddy Nevins
What would you do if you found $2,000 wrapped in a black hair band on the floor at the entrance of Starbucks?
For Broward School Board candidate Steven Julian there was only one choice:
Give it back.
Steven Julian
Julian discovered it is not easy finding the owner who lost the stacks of $100s, $50s, $20s and $10s.
He asked folks lined up at the Starbucks near Interstate 595 and SW 136 Street whether they had lost money.
Nobody had.
Julian went table-to-table and asked whether anybody lost money.
Nobody had.
Julian was in Starbucks to meet with a supporter. He told a barista that he found money, got his coffee, sat down and waited. And waited.
Almost an hour later, the barista said somebody had called asking about the money.
“He knew how much I found, the domination of the bills and how it was wrapped,” Julian recalled.
Did he ever consider keeping the money?
“Never,” Julian said before the question was completed.
Then again, Julian is financially secure.
He helped kick start his campaign with $25,000 from his own pocket. His wife is a newly-minted physician.
Julian also turned down a reward.
“It was their rent money and they were super appreciative,” Julian said.
Later he told Browardbeat that “getting it back to the rightful owner was reward enough.”
The Julian name is recognizable by anyone who has been around Broward County’s political and legal world for awhile.
Julian’s mother is Joyce Julian, a former judge. His father Robert Julian was the Florida Attorney General’s South Florida economic crimes chief.
Now Steven Julian is campaigning for School Board District 6, an area which encompasses Weston, Cooper City, most of Davie and the western slices of Sunrise and Plantation.
The race is being watched closely as a measure of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support among School Board voters.
That’s because Julian’s opponent is self-described conservative Brenda Fam whose views seems to mirror those of DeSantis. Fam stands for “respect for parental rights, and family values: and the removal of obscene and age inappropriate materials,” according to the Miami Herald.
Julian’s major campaign pledge is to push for more mental health help for students. He is currently working his way towards a master’s degrees in clinic mental health and said he hopes to later get a Ph.D in the subject.
But he didn’t need to get those degrees to bring a great deal of mental health to the extended family that lost $2,000. They now support Julian all the way:
Grandmother asked of her opinion of Steven Julian, who found and returned family’s $2,000. (photo from Steven Julian)
September 19th, 2022 at 12:07 pm
Counterpoint: He’s a candidate for public office and considered there was likely a camera on the Starbucks, and let’s be real, if video surfaced of him pocketing $2K how does that look? Found money or not.
Also, he figured why not pitch the story to Buddy Nevins.
September 19th, 2022 at 12:26 pm
This is no surprise. This is just another example of his integrity!
September 19th, 2022 at 4:40 pm
“He knew how much, the denominations, and how it was wrapped” ??? Sounds like drug money, did it also smell like weed? Just sayin’
FROM BUDDY:
Many folks do a great deal of business, if not all their business, in cash. Everything from a lawn cutting business to the folks that sell at the flea market and service personnel who work for tips are largely cash businesses. I have a handyman who I have paid thousands over the years in cash.
I bought orchids from a homeowner who has a side business and I paid in $10s and $20s. A lot of $10s and $20s.
I also bought a used work desk I the past few months and paid in $10s and $20s. The guy was moving and had sold a lot of furniture for cash.
So I wouldn’t be so quick to attribute nafarious reasons for the money.
September 20th, 2022 at 10:12 pm
Coin n Stamp Club auctions n shows are usually cash transactions as in Veterans Park Plantation. Second Hand Book sales are usually cash transactions as are most sales at Art Shows like in Ft Lauderdale.