Gov. Bush won't give deposition

A special master who is hearing the suspension case of former Broward Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant won't require Gov. Jeb Bush to give a deposition.

Oliphant, who was suspended in November by the governor, who said she was mismanaging Broward's election office, is scheduled for a July 12 hearing before Stephen Kahn, general counsel of the Florida Senate, and the special master who is serving as the judge in the case. His findings and recommendations will go to the full Senate.

Oliphant's attorney, Henry Hunter of Tallahassee, argued that Bush, former Secretary of State Jim Smith and current Secretary of State Glenda Hood should give depositions in the case.

Although Kahn said there was no precedent for a governor to be subpoenaed and won't require Smith to testify, he found that Hood could be asked to testify, and may be subpoenaed.

Bush had no ''personal eyewitness knowledge of the facts,'' Kahn pointed out. But as the state's chief election officer, Hood sent an assessment team to Broward twice to see whether Oliphant was meeting performance guidelines. Hood's testimony is important because she can detail how the ``benchmarks were set and just how . . . Oliphant failed to meet them.'' [ more]