Longtime elections director resigns

David Leahy, Miami-Dade elections supervisor, was criticized for the mishandled primary.

©Associated Press
December 3, 2002

MIAMI -- Miami-Dade County's veteran elections supervisor, who was heavily criticized for botching the September primary, announced his resignation Monday.

David Leahy said in a letter to County Manager Steve Shiver that he will remain in his job until his successor is hired.

Leahy said it was time to let someone else run the elections department. He has been the county's top election official since 1981 and earns an annual salary of $149,079.

"I have faced numerous challenges in my career," he said. "The demands placed on my family and on me have been tough to bear."

Leahy, the state's only appointed elections supervisor, will help the county lead a national search to take over the department, Shiver said.

Leahy was not forced to resign, Shiver said, although he added the two had "candid discussions" about the elections department's problems.

Leahy told Miami-Dade Democratic Party chairman Ray Zeller he decided to resign because of personal reasons.

Leahy oversaw the Sept. 10 primary, where vote tallies were delayed for a week due to technical glitches, poor poll worker training and precincts that opened hours late. Miami-Dade is the state's largest county, and has Florida's second-highest number of registered voters, behind Broward County.

Shiver said Leahy will be consulted as the county overhauls its election department to prevent a repeat of September's errors. Those problems stemmed from the department's inadequate management structure, insufficient staff and lack of standardized procedures, Shiver said.

"These inadequacies deeply concern me and demand that the county take immediate action," Shiver said.

Broward Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant also came under intense criticism for bungling the primary election, and an audit found that she overspent her budget by almost $1-million and gave inordinately high salaries and raises to friends that she hired. Gov. Jeb Bush has demanded that she begin a cost-cutting program and report on her progress.

Leahy has overseen a number of high-profile elections.

He earned plaudits after the county held countywide elections in the fall of 1992, immediately after the destruction of Hurricane Andrew.

Leahy's office received money and resources to pursue allegations of voting fraud after an investigation found widespread absentee ballot problems in the 1997 Miami mayoral election. Xavier Suarez initially won, but a court removed him from office several months later and awarded the election to incumbent Joe Carollo.

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