TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Johnson Spent $2 Million On Voter Education

News Channel 8 file photo by ERIC HAUSMANN

Buddy Johnson raised $76,000 in campaign funds, less than half of rival Phyllis Busansky's total.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MIKE SALINERO

msalinero@tampatrib.com

Published: February 11, 2009

TAMPA - With millions of dollars at his disposal and his re-election in jeopardy, Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson launched a voter education campaign last year unique in its scope and extravagance.

The smiling supervisor's likeness was on colorful brochures mailed to voters. His name was broadcast on radio in English and Spanish.

The campaign ostensibly was to educate voters about the change in voting machines from touch-screen to optical scan mandated by the state Legislature. Johnson spent about $2 million in county and federal funds on the education effort, far more than surrounding counties.

He also left his successor, Phyllis Busansky, with just $300,000 in the elections office account out of $3 million the county commission appropriated to cover operations through Sept. 30.

Auditors have yet to fully detail where that money went, and Johnson would not comment for this article. But check receipts and other records examined by The Tampa Tribune point to the voter education campaign as a likely source of much of the overspending.

State law does not limit how much county money an elections supervisor can spend on voter education as long as he stays within his budget. But the spending is sure to be part of any law enforcement investigation into why Johnson overspent his fiscal 2008 budget, a violation of state law revealed in a recent audit by the accounting firm, Ernst & Young.

Busansky and others charged that Johnson was financing his re-election campaign with public money. Johnson raised just $76,000 in campaign contributions, less than half of Busansky's total. Yet he was able to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars on public relations and advertising companies to shape a message that prominently featured Johnson.

A Lot Of Money

Last year, when Hillsborough County leaders were cutting $80 million from the budget and laying off 100 workers, Johnson was spending roughly $1 million in county money on lavish voter education and public awareness efforts. That's about the same amount a newly released audit by the accounting firm Ernst & Young said he overspent last year.

"It seems like a lot of money to me, particularly when he was presumably getting federal grant money specifically to address those kinds of issues," said Eric Johnson, Hillsborough County budget director.

Johnson's office received $944,000 since 2006 under the federal Help America Vote Act. That figure includes money for poll worker recruitment and training. Records show he spent that money plus the $1 million in county funds on voter education.

Although surrounding counties spent some of their own funds to supplement the federal grant, none spent even half what Johnson did on voter education.

The county budget expenditures included about $270,000 in media buys, much more than surrounding counties spent for that purpose. For instance, Pinellas spent no money on television or radio ads, and just $22,000 on advertising in newspapers.

Orange County spent $80,000 on radio and newspaper ads, but nothing on TV.

Nancy Whitlock, spokeswoman for the Pinellas elections office, said elections issues were getting plenty of media coverage without the office buying ads.

"We just didn't feel we had the budget for it," Whitlock said.

Tribune Examination

The Tribune looked at more than $12 million in checks written by Johnson's office last year. At least $1 million was spent on voter education. Exact figures were not available because some voter education funds are comingled with other expenditures.

The voter education money was spent on everything from radio and TV advertisements to book marks and church fans. Johnson spent several hundred thousand dollars of county money with consultants, including more than $230,000 with a Tampa advertising firm, Schifino/Lee. That's more than the Sarasota County elections office spent in county funds on its entire voter education effort.

In at least one case, a public relations firm paid by tax dollars attempted to arrange an appearance by Johnson at a bicycling club event in St. Petersburg. Sensing that Johnson had no interest in cycling, the bike store owners who sponsor the event declined.

"That kind of raised a flag because I knew he was running for re-election," said Alan Snel, a former Tribune reporter who organized the event. "It looked like Buddy was trying to get some campaign face time with the folks at the bicycle festival."

The elections office spent more than $135,000 in county money to educate Hispanics and African-Americans, voters Johnson would need to be re-elected. Most of the money went for radio and newspaper advertisements in media targeted at blacks and Latinos.

"I think Buddy tried to do a very good job with the Hispanic community and the African-American community," said Patrick Manteiga, editor and publisher of La Gaceta newspaper. "Is it too much? Is it too little? I can't tell you that."

Johnson should have looked for less extravagant ways to educate voters, County Administrator Pat Bean said. For instance, Bean or other county officials often speak at community meetings without the help of a public relations firm. The county places its own ads in newspapers or journals without a go-between. And informational mail-outs can be sent postage free by including them in monthly water bills.

"I can't imagine we would ever spend that kind of money on any kind of education program," Bean said. "We would certainly look at every way we could do it short of spending that kind of money."

Bringing Closure

County Commissioners have asked the state attorney, the FBI, the Florida auditor general and other law enforcement agencies to investigate Johnson's financial stewardship of the elections office. None of the agencies has responded yet to their requests.

Johnson did violate state law by overspending his budget, Ernst & Young said in the audit, but the only penalty under that statute is to remove Johnson from office. Johnson lost to Busansky in the Nov. 4 election.

Commissioners say they won't be satisfied until they get a detailed accounting of where Johnson spent the money meant to run his office.

"I want to know how those taxpayer dollars were spent," Commissioner Kevin Beckner said. "The taxpayers deserve to know and we need to know to bring closure to this."

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT