The Tampa Tribune's Daniel Ruth has been on a real tear lately. It's been a long time since I read his column, but this makes three times lately.
The other two times recently were his ridicule of
Sarah Palin and his blasts at
Tom Feeney.In his column today he is really digging at the Hillsborough County election supervisor, Buddy Johnson.
Dear Buddy: Please Stop Writing UsAt this point in the campaign season, if you are a registered voter, a nonregistered voter, a rabid badger, or even if you are dead, chances are you've received mail from Buddy Johnson, Hillsborough County supervisor of elections, reminding you that he is Buddy Johnson, Hillsborough County supervisor of elections.
Sack Of Chad
What is amazing about ... by the way, did I forget to mention that Buddy Johnson is the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections?
At any rate, what is amazing about all of this publicity is that Johnson has had his fair share of dumber than a sack of chad moments on the job in an office that has seen more turnover than a suicide bomber school.
Former employees have been paid to shut up about the inner workings of Johnson's office. Votes have been lost, polling places changed without advance notice and the supervisor of elections has manipulated his property taxes by arranging to have cows graze on his land to lower his payments. And when it comes to accessibility, Johnson often has proven to be less visible than the state executioner.
Old Dan's on a most remarkable tear lately.
I think every election supervisor in Florida should be under very close scrutiny. The light should be shining on everything they do. The Democrats are sending lawyers to
"prowl" the polling places. And that's good.
But other columnists should be writing about the issue as well, talking to the county supervisors, keeping things open to the public.