Ex-school board member to seek elections post

Jennifer Gottlieb, a former member of the Broward School Board who is well known in Democratic Party circles, filed paperwork on Thursday to run for county supervisor of elections.

Her candidacy, which political insiders have been whispering about, shakes up the contest for the Democratic nomination for the job.

“I’m running to restore confidence in Broward County elections to make voting easily accessible, and to make sure every vote is securely and accurately counted. I’ve spent my life working to improve Broward County and being a strong voice for the people,” Gottlieb said in a prepared statement.

“I have a record of getting things accomplished. In these unprecedented times, we need bold and proven leadership to rebuild trust in the Elections Office, protect the safety of our votes, enhance security, increase voter participation, and uphold the integrity of our local election system,” she said.

Gottlieb is a veteran of tough political campaigns — on the winning side and on the losing side — and has been both a candidate and a campaign strategist. Showing the breadth of her political connections, she announced several endorsements. The endorsements are heavily, but not exclusively, from the southern part of the county.

Supporting Gottlieb are state Sen. Gary Farmer, who she’s worked for as a legislative aide; County Commissioner Beam Furr; state Reps. Evan Jenne and Michael Gottlieb (not related); School Board members Robin Bartleman and Ann Murray; and Hollywood Commissioner Kevin Biederman.

She’s a late entrant into a crowded race. Other candidates include Ruth CarterLynch, a former vice chairwoman of the Broward Democratic Party; Mitch Ceasar, a lawyer and longtime former chairman of the Broward Democratic Party; Chad Klitzman, a lawyer and screenwriter; Tim Lonergan, an Oakland Park city commissioner; and Joe Scott, who works for a technology company.

Ceasar and Klitzman have raised far more than the other candidates. Counting money they’ve given their own campaigns, each has taken in more than $100,000 and even after spending on their campaigns, each still has more money in his campaign account than any of the other candidates.

Gottlieb, 48, is so well known in political circles, she isn’t likely to have any trouble raising money to run a competitive race.

She served in a countywide seat on the Broward School Board 2006 to 2011. She was Broward political director for 2018 gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum. She’s the former wife of County Judge Ken Gottlieb, who used to be a member of the Florida House.

Jennifer Gottlieb abruptly resigned from the School Board in 2011, a decision that Murray, one of her endorsers, said at the time surprised her. Gottlieb’s statement Thursday said she left the School Board to focus on her family and raise her two sons, who are both now in college.

The race for supervisor of elections will effectively be decided in the Aug. 18 Democratic primary. Broward is so overwhelmingly Democratic that the primary winner is virtually assured of winning in November. One Republican, Catherine Seei McBreen, is running.

There is no incumbent in the race. Former Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes resigned after the problemplagued 2018 midterm elections. Peter Antonacci, appointed to fill the job by then-Gov. Rick Scott, isn’t running for the job.

Gottlieb