Not unexpectedly, those out-of-district, Ken Hagan survey fliers have created a political flap. The fliers – “not produced at taxpayer expense” – were passed out by Hagan and staff to voters in Seminole Heights and South Tampa. North Hillsborough resident Hagan currently chairs the County Commission. Next year he’ll be running for a countywide commission seat.
Hagan calls the fliers — with his visage prominently displayed — “constituent-service oriented” even though they’re going to voters outside his district. He says they’re not “campaign-related.” Maybe Buddy Johnson would agree, but critics note that the county is not behind these survey fliers. They also say campaign literature by any other name is still campaign literature.
Actually, Hagan need not resort to such “constituent-service” ringers. Instead, he should re-examine his previous campaign modus operandi. It would help if he were to make himself more available to voter forums – and cut out the cherry-picking. There will be plenty of opportunities — should he avail himself of them — for voters to assess Hagan’s countywide candidacy beyond a self-serving, “not campaign-related” survey flier.