He couldn’t just go quietly.
No, Buddy Johnson, the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections who had become synonymous with incompetence, had to thumb his nose on the way out. And by doing so, he added to a legacy that already included leading the state in most (November election) voter complaints and topping all supervisors-of-elections in controversy and reproach the past few years.
Johnson – through an office proxy, chief deputy Kathy Harris – had asked for an extra $2.3 million for election-cost overruns. It was, at least in part, the cost of being unprepared for that record Nov. 4 Hillsborough turnout. Then he rescinded the request — but not the chutzpah of his approach — after an eruption of criticism and a county commission order for an audit. Then, in what seemed a fit of pique and paranoia, he accused his successor, Phyllis Busansky, and County Attorney Renee Lee of a “surreptitious investigation” of Hillsborough’s voting machine supplier.
All of which continues the ongoing begging of this question: How the hell did this guy ever pull 233,000 votes last month? Not even hardcore partisans and Buddy-Freddy regulars should have accounted for 47 percent of the vote.