Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson fired PR director Steve Holub, which in itself is no big deal. However (according to the St. Pete Times), Johnson gave Holub a severance check of over $24,000 – if Holub agreed not to sue the office and “keep his mouth shut” about anything he observed at the SOE offices. Now THAT is curious. 

Times reporter Jeff Testerman told us of the agreement on Thursday. But Buddy Johnson wouldn’t talk to him, and SOE attorney Kathy Harris said nobody would comment on the severance.

Reporters from the Tribune read the St. Pete Times story, and followed up on it Friday. Buddy Johnson told them “I don’t know what the big deal is.” 

To Johnson and the rest of Hillsborough County officials it really is no big deal, because apparently it’s happening all the time:

• Last fall, former Assistant County Attorney Ray Allen left with $40,007 severance payment and agreed to keep quiet about the details.
• Upon resigning in May 2005, Stan Motley (former director of Parks, Recreation and Conservation) got $81,840, and Daryl Smith (former director of Solid Waste) got $125,900.
• Previously mentioned SOE attorney Kathy Harris is new at that position. Just last month, the previous legal counsel, Helene Marks resigned, was paid a severance, and had no comment about the separation. 

There’s all kinds of changes happening at the Supervisor of Elections office:

• Assistant SOE James Reed was promoted to that position in May, and received his fifth raise within 19 months. That works out to one raise or promotion every 4 months.
• In March, Johnson moved much of his legal business from the county attorney’s office to the Broad and Cassel law firm in Tampa. Steven Burton, the managing partner of the firm, was regional co-chairman of the Bush-Cheney legal team formed to address any voting concerns during the 2004 presidential election.
• Kathy Harris was hired to take Marks’ place - at $50,000 more a year.

Most interesting is that reporter Testerman had found that Kathy Harris had previously worked for Hillsborough County (human services), but left in 2001 (emphasis mine):

Calling it “probably the hardest decision I have ever made,” Harris said in a resignation letter, “I am unable to support our continued practices, particularly when asked not to question those practices.”

Now she is back with the county, defending Buddy Johnson’s silence.

Could be that this is no big deal. Maybe Holub spotted Johnson using county computers to, uh, play solitaire or something. But all the secrecy is certainly peculiar. Even Clerk of the Circuit Court Pat Frank says “It’s very extraordinary.”

I think we ought to know what this is all about.