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Busansky Would Restore Faith In Elections Office

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 5, 2008

Since becoming Hillsborough's Supervisor of Elections five years ago, Buddy Johnson has been steeped in controversy, secrecy, wasteful spending and outright bungling.

Johnson was appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush after then-supervisor Pam Iorio resigned to run for mayor in 2003, though he has subsequently been elected. But never has Johnson seemed comfortable in his role, committed to the daily job or in command of the details.

Johnson's personal problems and inept management style have made too many headlines. He's failed to pay his taxes and is in a conflict over his debt on a condo. And though he spends taxpayer money with abandon, he cut his own property taxes by $11,000 by arranging to have 17 cows graze on his land.

Voters deserve better and can demand it this Election Day when Johnson, a Republican, faces former Hillsborough County Commissioner Phyllis Busansky, a Democrat.

Busansky is a champion of good government and a capable leader who would restore competence, efficiency and openness to the elections office.

Under Johnson, the office has suffered frequent miscues.

His office has lost votes, misplaced ballot petitions, changed polling places without notifying voters and drawn tiny precincts that make little sense. Equipment has malfunctioned. Tabulations have been agonizingly slow. Public confidence has eroded.

Neither is Johnson a fiscal conservative. He has driven personnel costs up by $1.7 million - 99 percent - since taking office, while creating a revolving door of staff turnover. In one case, he paid a former public relations director $24,000 to keep his mouth shut about what he saw at the office.

Most concerning, Johnson regularly seems befuddled by what his office is up to. He has enormous difficulty answering questions directly. Instead, he often asks his staff to do the heavy lifting and explain the details. When called to testify on a federal voting-rights case brought by the NAACP, Johnson could not explain the voter registration process. He says the questions were "leading and acrimonious."

Johnson always has an excuse for his problems, one that generally places blame on the media. But voters don't want excuses. They want a credible elections supervisor who pays attention to the details and spends their tax dollars with caution.

Busansky is just the kind of take-charge leader the office needs.

She understands the job is about managing an efficient, accurate election, not about plastering your name and picture on every conceivable item distributed by the office. At taxpayer expense, Johnson has put his name and picture on vans and high-gloss brochures - something other elections supervisors refuse to do because of the obvious conflict. Yet under the guise of voter education, Johnson is running television ads that look every bit like campaign commercials - at taxpayer expense.

As the county's director of aging services and later director of Florida's welfare reform, Busansky has proven her ability to manage an operation, improve efficiency and bolster customer service.

She was an innovative county commissioner who spurred the creation of an indigent health care program that serves Tampa's working poor and prevents the overuse of emergency rooms.

Busansky is a good listener who accepts criticism and welcomes new ideas.

She criticizes Johnson's decision to hire a financial officer so that his expenses can be paid in-house, not through the Hillsborough County Clerk of Courts office. Johnson says he wants to pay poll workers more quickly, but for this extravagance, he is spending $90,000 a year of your money.

Busansky promises a fiscal and technical audit of the elections office and says its financial transactions will be readily available to the public.

Buddy Johnson may be an amiable fellow, but he's proved to be an erratic administrator with dubious judgment. He says he has grown since taking the job, but his claim that the office is running as smoothly as ever is not credible. Voters need an able leader who will take the surprises out of Election Day.

For Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, the Tribune recommends Phyllis Busansky.

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