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Johnson Asked Voting Machine Company For Job

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By ADAM EMERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 6, 2009

TAMPA - Buddy Johnson held a voting-machine company responsible for a bungled November election count, but that didn't stop him from asking the vendor for a job.

A spokesman with Premier Elections Solutions said today that Johnson twice sought a job with the company after his November loss to the current elections supervisor, Phyllis Busansky.

But the company made it clear it wasn't interested, spokesman Chris Riggall said. Johnson never paid the $2.2 million his office owed the vendor, leaving that bill for Busansky to settle.

Riggall said Johnson sought employment with Premier twice – once during the week of Nov. 18 and once during the week of Dec. 8.

"It was not, in our judgment, even appropriate to consider," Riggall said.

When asked whether Premier would have considered Johnson if the debt had been paid, Riggall declined to answer.

Bad news continues to mount for Johnson, whose actions in office may lead to a criminal investigation.

County commissioners this week said they wanted to ask law enforcement agencies to examine an audit showing that Johnson overspent his budget by nearly $1 million last year and then violated state law by failing to reimburse the county.

This week, Busansky asked commissioners for the $2.18 million the county owed Premier.

Johnson could not be reached.

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