Challenger gets $30,000 from Sharpe foe on day he qualifies

Last week, Hillsborough County Commission candidate Josh Burgin boasted about raising more than $40,000 in campaign contributions after being in the District 7 race just over a month.

But more than half that amount -- $21,510 - were loans from Burgin to his own campaign account. And the 34-year-old Republican admits the loans included money from a severance package Burgin received from Sam Rashid, his political mentor, former employer and ardent opponent of the incumbent Burgin is challenging.

The timing of the severance payout - coming on the day he qualified for office -- and Burgin's loan to his campaign raise questions about whether they were an effort to bypass Florida's election laws, said Bill Newton, executive director of Florida Consumer Action Network. State law limits individual contributions to $500 for a primary and $500 for the general election.

"This is a loophole in campaign law that really needs to be fixed," Newton said. "We've seen this happen quite a bit -- this loan thing. It's all done on a handshake; there's no paper trail."

Anthony Pedicini, spokesman for Burgin's opponent, County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, questioned whether Rashid is financing his protégé's campaign.

"Josh Burgin gets a severance and he uses the severance to run for county commission," Pedicini said. "That does not pass the smell test of good, honest government."

Sharpe would not comment on the matter except to say it "raises questions."

Rashid, a conservative power broker from East Hillsborough, is open about his determination to defeat Sharpe. Though both men are Republicans, Rashid thinks Sharpe tarnished his own conservative credentials by backing a one penny transportation tax. If approved by voters on Nov. 2, the tax will finance a light rail, road improvements and expanded bus routes.

In addition to a personal check Rashid wrote for $500, another $2,500 flowed into Burgin's campaign from Rashid's company, HOLTEC USA Corp., other companies Rashid owns and from an officer of one of his companies.

But Rashid denies he and Burgin colluded on using the severance money for campaigning.

"He could have bought a car with that severance, he could have bought a house with it, he could have bought jewelry with it," Rashid said, "but he decided to put it with his campaign which I think is great."

Burgin said he received $30,000 in severance, $26,000 after taxes, when he resigned from HOLTEC on June 18, the day he qualified to run for the commission seat. Burgin, who worked at the company for two years, managed its information technology department. HOLTEC makes precision saws for lumber.

The severance money was mingled with Burgin's savings and he wrote checks off the combined funds to his campaign account. Though he has only been in the race a little over a month, Burgin has mailed out several colorful, glossy campaign advertisements, including one that hit mailboxes Tuesday, according to Sharpe.

"My wife and I believe this campaign must go on," Burgin said. "If we have to put our personal funds in it we will do it. It may well deplete our savings before it's all over."

Rashid said he tried to get several conservatives to run against Sharpe, a commissioner since 2004, but they all turned him down. He claims he did not recruit Burgin, but blessed his candidacy when he saw the younger man was determined to run. Burgin has never held elective office but has worked in several political positions including executive director of the county Republican Party.