In South Florida, local elected officials are much richer than the people they represent

Come campaign time, politicians love to portray themselves as men and women of the people. But most go home to lives that are different from those of the voters they represent. In many cases, far different.

Financial disclosure forms filed by South Florida's top elected officials show a group of state senators, state representatives, county commissioners, school board members and others who are wealthier than average folks.

Of 76 elected officials in Broward and Palm Beach counties whose state-required disclosures were examined by the Sun Sentinel, almost one in three is worth at least $1 million. The most recent Census Bureau estimate puts the median level of household assets in the U.S. at $70,000.

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Even those elected officials who aren't in the millionaires' club are generally much better off than most. The median reported worth of South Florida's elected officials: $580,662, meaning half own assets worth more and half are worth less. Only seven of the 76 are worth less than $70,000.

That's no surprise to Adam Salater of Occupy Fort Lauderdale, the local spinoff of the Occupy Wall Street movement that argues against what participants see as excessive corporate power and unresponsive politicians.

"You talk about government of, by and for the people, and clearly they're not," Salater said. "We obviously have a political and economic elite in this country, and they run things for the benefit of those interests. The people in elected office are not a representation of the people."

"That's ridiculous," said state Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton ? net worth $7.4 million ? Palm Beach County's wealthiest state legislator.

Slosberg said the notion of being in the top slot meant a great deal to him ? until the 1996 death of his daughter Dori in a car crash. Since then, he said he hardly ever thinks about business and money.

And like other local elected officials who declare a net worth of at least $1 million, Slosberg said he votes without regard to how government policies might affect his personal well-being.

Several trends show up in the financial disclosure forms, in which public officials estimated their value of their assets at various times from Dec. 31, 2010 to Aug. 11:

---Countywide elected officials and School Board members in Palm Beach County are wealthier than their Broward counterparts.

In Palm Beach County, only Tax Collector Anne Gannon ($622,000) reported a worth of less than $1 million. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher, Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits and Clerk of the Circuit Court Sharon Bock is each worth between $1.2 million and $1.8 million.

In Broward County, Clerk of the Circuit Court Howard Forman, Sheriff Al Lamberti, Property Appraiser Lori Parrish, and Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes all said they are worth less than $655,000.

Three of the seven Palm Beach County School Board members ? Monroe Benaim, Jennifer Prior Brown and Chuck Shaw ? declare assets of more than $1 million. Disclosures are available for only seven of nine Broward board members, all of whom said they are worth less than $750,000. The newest Broward School Board members, Katherine Leach and Donna Korn, were appointed after the summer deadline for filing disclosure statements.

---For county commissioners, the wealth is in Broward.

Three of the nine Broward commissioners ? Gunzburger, John Rodstrom and Barbara Sharief ? stated net assets of from $2.4 million to $8 million. The average net worth reported by the other six is $300,000.

In Palm Beach County, Commissioner Jess Santamaria is the only one who declared assets in the seven figures with a net worth of $8.6 million. The other six commissioners' average net worth is $369,600.

---State senators are much better off than representatives.

Four of the 10 state senators who represent parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties ? Democrats Gwen Margolis, Jeremy Ring, Nan Rich and Eleanor Sobel ? said they are worth more than $1 million. The average for the others is $500,800.

Seven of the 25 state representatives from the two counties are worth seven figures. State Reps. Lori Berman, Franklin Sands, Elaine Schwartz, Slosberg and Jim Waldman, all Democrats, and state Reps. Bill Hager and Patrick Rooney, both Republicans, estimated their wealth at between $1.1 million and $7.4 million. The average for the others is $223,300.

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-politician-financial-disclosures-20111227,0,4235838.story?track=rss

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