FBI finds more about how Hillsborough County, FL, taxpayer elections office money was spent.

Johnson Spent $2 Million On Voter Education

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.

The federal probe of former Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson led agents two months ago to the chic, South Tampa offices of Schifino Lee Advertising and Branding.

The contract signed by Johnson and one of the firm's presidents, Ben Lee, limited the firm to no more than $40,000 of work. Yet the company billed taxpayers $643,016

Schifino Lee executives have handed over records related to its advertising campaign to federal investigators. Lee says his firm has nothing to hide and made those same records available to the St. Petersburg Times. Taken together, they depict a campaign that promoted Johnson's re-election as much as, if not more than, voter education — the only reason it was taxpayer-subsidized to begin with.

The Times found:

• Schifino Lee won the contract in a no-bid process that let Johnson choose whichever firm he wanted, regardless of its qualifications, experience or cost.
• Many of the ads were political in nature, trumpeting Johnson's "achievements'' as supervisor. Some included false claims, while others had little or nothing to do with educating the public about how to vote.
• Several pieces were identical or nearly so, yet Schifino Lee charged taxpayers creative costs for them each time they were recycled.
• Some of the pieces were never used, and some of the work had little or no value. An article by Johnson that was ghost-written by the firm was never published. A two-page flier cost $1,854, but there is no indication it was ever used. Another flier told voters how to fill the oval on the ballot. "Completely," it advised, a tip that cost taxpayers $765.

Lee said all of the work was done at the behest of the client — Buddy Johnson.

A booth flier intended to explain to voters how to fill in ovals on the ballot is simply a large oval that's blacked out. Yet the firm charged $765 for it, including $550 for "art direction." Typically, art direction includes the creative development of the piece.

Lost votes should oust official, opponent says
Rob MacKenna says Buddy Johnson misled officials and should resign from his post.

Lost votes should oust official, opponent says

SNIP..."TAMPA - Rob MacKenna, Democratic challenger for supervisor of elections, accused incumbent Buddy Johnson Friday of providing an "inaccurate and misleading account" of his office's loss of 245 votes in the August primary and suggested Johnson "should be drawing a paycheck elsewhere."

In a noon news conference, MacKenna backed his charges with evidence from an internal report on 245 votes lost when an elections worker mistakenly left a touch screen voting machine in the "test" mode....."END SNIP