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Folks, Finance Your Campaign The Easy Way! Use The Buddy System

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By STEVE OTTO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

Farmer Buddy Johnson, the current supervisor of elections, hasn't raised nearly as much in his bid to keep his job as his opponent, former Hillsborough County Commissioner Phyllis Busansky, has raised in her bid to take it.

Apparently he doesn't need to. He's letting you finance his campaign. His office has been sending out voter registration forms to absentee ballot voters. Including the envelope, his name is on the material six times and it has two pictures of him. He even bothers to promote his own support of the new voting machine system in the enclosed forms.

I suppose one of the perks of being in office is a little self-glorification. Former Mayor Nick Nuccio was probably the champ at getting his name on every city project, from park benches to buildings. And most of us are used to going to parks or schools and seeing a long list of administrators and politicians on a plaque taking credit for spending your money to complete something you paid for.

The difference is that it is one of the jobs of the supervisor of elections to ensure a fair election, particularly in the voting process. Too many times in recent weeks that has not been the case on the part of the supervisor's office.

(Editor's note: See related story on Page 6.)

Where Are The Tiki Heads?

OK, here's the question of the week and it has nothing to do with congressional bailouts, Sarah Palin or where the USF football team was Thursday night.

It comes from reader Mark Sullivan: "Steve, I enjoy your columns and thought you might be able to clear something up for me.

"Although I was a young kid at the time, I pride myself on the clarity of my early memories and hope I just didn't dream this up. With four older brothers though, I could have easily had my leg pulled quite firmly. For some reason, I recall an interesting Tampa mystery that no one I know remembers.

"My memory goes like this: Back in 1968 or 1969 or thereabouts, I recall two huge stone Tiki heads that were located at the entrance driveway into a Hawaiian/South Pacific themed hotel/resort (Hawaiian Village maybe?). The location was on the west side of Dale Mabry, a little south of the intersection with Boy Scout Boulevard. One night (I want to say it was Friday) after the sidewalks were rolled up for the night, apparently these huge heads were mysteriously removed. I recall no resolution as to who did it or how it was done. I know - it sounds like an episode from 'Banacek.'

"So was I dreaming? Did someone pull a fast one on a naive younger brother? Or have I uncovered the plot of a future Tim Dorsey novel?"

Mark, I don't know the answer. I'm a little troubled you even remember "Banacek." I do recall going into the old Hawaiian Village restaurant one night with the Frau when I was the paper's restaurant reviewer decades ago. The idea was you were to be anonymous and we had gone in on a crowded Sunday afternoon.

After we sat down, half a dozen waiters and waitresses dressed in costume came to our table carrying a giant pu-pu platter with a smoking volcano in the middle and we figured our cover had been blown.

I don't remember the giant Tiki heads, but after eating that pu-pu platter it was all a little fuzzy. Maybe someone out there knows what happened to them.

Seeking Rhyme And Reason

While you're looking for those two Tiki heads ...

You might remember that giant poem that hung on the Tampa Tower Building for a year called "Leviathan." This thing was 10 stories tall and was written by the city's poet laureate, James Tokley. One day it was gone and Tokley is curious as to where it went. It's too big to put up in his living room but since it was the largest poem there ever was - at least around here - you do wonder.

I'm also still looking for those Bicentennial planks. Back in 1976 when the city first decided to build a Riverwalk, they were going to do it with wooden planks honoring the Bicentennial that people would pay for.

Later on, the planks disappeared and are presumably stored somewhere, but nobody seems to know where. I was wondering why they couldn't be a part of the new project, unless the termites have eaten them.

Hospital Gives Gift Of Life

There continues to be a number of letters and e-mail coming in on a column I did three weeks ago. This is from Sandra in Tampa. "I am a retired RN who used to work in the Transplant Operating Room at Tampa General, and I, too, think it is an amazing place. I have a friend who received a heart transplant almost 13 years ago and is still going strong. Also, the husband of another nurse in the unit received a lung transplant four years ago at the tender age of 79!

"Ordinarily they wouldn't transplant someone that old, but this man had never smoked in his life, but got the flu, which resulted in fibrosis. He was a very athletic man, used to walking 5-10 miles a day before the illness, so they took a chance and gave him a new lung. Now 83, he lives in Portland, Oregon. And he still walks his five miles a day. If the doctors at Tampa General had not looked at the whole person he might not have had that chance. Take me to Tampa General!"

Keyword, Otto Graphs, to read and comment on Steve Otto's blog.

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