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Hillsborough Elections Office Audit Ahead

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: November 12, 2008

TAMPA - Earlier this year, Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson took over control of payroll, billing and other financial responsibilities from the clerk of the circuit court in a move that raised concerns about a lack of transparency in the elections office.

Now, those functions are expected to return to the Hillsborough County Circuit Clerk's Office as part of a reshaping by Supervisor-elect Phyllis Busansky, who defeated Johnson in last week's election.

Busansky also plans to replace several top managers in the elections office, including Johnson's chief of staff and legal counsel Kathy Harris; David Parks, chief information officer for the elections office; and Stacie Poppell, Johnson's finance administrator.

"We're clearing the slate," Busansky said Tuesday. "But we've got a lot of work ahead."

The trio formed the backbone of Johnson's hand-picked staff. Harris was paid $175,000; Parks $132,000; and Poppell $87,000. By comparison, Johnson was paid $132,000.

Retired Hillsborough sheriff's Maj. Craig Latimer, who ran Busansky's campaign, will head her transition team and take over for Harris as chief of staff.

She said his pay has not been determined.

This week, Busansky is headed up to New York to attend a briefing on the best practices for running elections offices at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

Busansky, a former Hillsborough commissioner, takes over the supervisor's post on Jan. 4, and one of the first orders of business will be requesting a financial audit of the office.

"We need to find out what we're working with," she said. "Right now, we just don't know."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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