Hillsborough elections supervisor Busansky dies at age 72

Phyllis Busansky, the Hillsborough County elections chief remembered by friends and colleagues as one of the area's most committed public servants, was found dead in a St. Augustine hotel room Tuesday morning.

Busansky, who was 72, was found unresponsive in her room at the Renaissance Hotel at the World Golf Village, where a conference of Florida's elections supervisors was held, deputies with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said.

The night before her death, Busansky showed no signs of illness or discomfort, said Sigrid Tidmore, her communications director. Busansky was taking her aides by the hand and introducing them to elections supervisors from other counties.

"She was going around introducing people, networking," Tidmore said. "She was putting people together so they could build a better election solution.''

Around 8 p.m. Monday, Busansky felt tired and left the conference for her room. Hotel security checked on her at 9 a.m. the next morning when she didn't show up for a scheduled meeting.

Emergency workers pronounced her dead there. There were no signs of foul play; it appears she died of natural causes, though her physician will sign the death certificate because of her "extensive medical history," St. Johns sheriff's spokesman Kevin Kelshaw said.

Raised in Hartford, Conn., Busansky spent years in public service in the Tampa Bay area. A Democrat and former two-term county commissioner, she was elected to her current post in November after defeating former elections chief Buddy Johnson. She also served as the county's aging services director.

During her campaign last year for elections supervisor, Busansky said she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007 but that doctors caught it so early she had suffered no health problems later.

Tidmore, who handled communications for Busansky's first commission campaign in 1988, said Busansky had been suffering from a cold and sinus problems several weeks ago but had recovered by the time of the conference.

"Phyllis took excellent care of herself," Tidmore said. "She had clean bill of health and was dubbed cancer free by everyone ... so we have no reason to believe [cancer] had anything to do with this."

'A champion of good government'

Friends and colleagues throughout the Tampa Bay area and Florida expressed their grief over the loss of someone they considered a true public servant.

"Phyllis, as she was known to everyone, was an inspiration to generations of Hillsborough County residents and a champion of good government," a statement from the county elections office said. "Over the last six months she brought order, focus and vision to the elections office.

"Her entire staff is deeply saddened by her passing. However, they will continue to perform professionally and deliver the kind of election services Phyllis was determined to have."

Craig Latimer, Busansky's chief of staff, will manage the elections office until Gov. Charlie Crist picks a new supervisor.

Crist will appoint a replacement to serve until the general election in fall 2010, said Sterling Ivey, the governor's spokesman. Ivey couldn't say how long it would take to appoint an interim supervisor, but Crist will take applications this week.

Crist said he was stunned by Busansky's sudden death. "She was a very nice person, very caring."

The governor said he is aware he has to appoint an interim quickly because the office is running on its own until he does so. "We will take care of it expeditiously and appropriately," he said.

"My first thoughts are with her family and we can take care of the appointment another day."

Meanwhile, the conference of elections supervisors in St. Augustine will continue as scheduled, and attendees will honor Busansky at a dinner Wednesday night. Most of the Hillsborough elections staff has returned to Tampa, however.

On Tuesday, business at the elections office on Falkenburg Road was operating normally, but the flag outside is flying half-staff, said Tim Bridge, the office's administration director. Flags at all county government offices will be flown at half-staff through Friday.

Former County Commissioner Jan Platt said Busansky showed her commitment to the community by taking on the elections supervisor job in the wake of scandals surrounding the office under Johnson.

"Not many other people would have taken on that job," said Platt, who served with Busansky.

"Phyllis was a bright and shining star in county government. She was a professional in every sense of the word. She had integrity and she loved our community."

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who served as supervisor of elections from 1993 to 2003, said Busansky was the type of person the office needed after the turmoil of recent years.

"Phyllis represented the promise of change in the supervisor's office," said Iorio, who served with Busansky on the county commission. "She wanted to bring transparency and best-management practices after what happened there over the past few years. It's sad she was taken away when she was so needed."

Johnson, who left the office in January, said in a statement, "My heart goes out to Mr. Busansky and the Busansky family. I wish my sincere sympathies as they recover from their great and sudden loss. I think that Ms. Busansky would have become a very good Supervisor of Elections."

Eccentric, but passionate

Busansky was a sometimes "a little eccentric" but always a passionate public servant, said Commissioner Jim Norman, who served with Busansky for six years. One of her favorite sayings to fellow commissioners was, "You people are putting my hair on fire."

Busansky was not shy, nor was she big on decorum.

"We could be a half-block away and I'd hear, 'Norman! Hey, Norman!' I knew it was Phyllis Busansky," Norman said. "What was unique about Phyllis was that she was such a passionate, fiery lady."

Former County Commissioner Ed Turanchik said he had campaigned for Busansky when he was political director for the Sierra Club; she returned the favor by campaigning for Turanchik when he ran for the commission.

Turanchik said Busansky's crowning achievement was helping create the county's indigent health care system, which continues to provide medical care for tens of thousands of working poor every year.

"Her forte in life was helping people who needed help," Turanchik said. "A lot of politicians come and go; they don't leave much of a mark. Phyllis' service on the county commission and her leadership on health care have made the difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people every year.

She was dedicated to the cause of making government work better, said Jay Wolfson, a professor of public health at the University of South Florida and longtime friend of Busansky's.

Hillsborough's indigent health care program, "still stands as an example of the way a program is supposed to work," Wolfson said.

Busansky is survived by her husband, Sheldon, and their three children and several grandchildren.

She received her bachelor's degree from Wheaton College and her master's of business administration at Heller School at Brandeis University. She was a faculty member of the School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Funeral services for Busansky are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Congregation Schaarai Zedek, 3303 W. Swann Ave., Tampa. The public is invited.