Patrick Bergy alleges that employees in the Supervisor of Elections Office use office computers to frequent his campaign Web site.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published August 17, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - Patrick Bergy says his campaign Web site has received hundreds of hits from county-owned computers in recent months. He believes the traffic is coming from the office of his opponent, Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning - a potential no-no because public employees cannot use their office equipment for campaign purposes.
The hits have come from a couple of computers on the jupiter.pascogov.com network, the server that handles the Internet traffic for Browning's office, as well as the offices of Tax Collector Mike Olson and Property Appraiser Mike Wells.
Bergy said a couple of computers on that network are downloading about 20 to 30 pages a day from his Web site, www.savethevote.com Within the past few months, he said, one computer has downloaded more than 2,000 pages.
"They hit my site more than Paris Hilton gets Googled," said Bergy, a nonpartisan candidate who works as a computer network administrator for a Tampa cardiac clinic.
"Instead of doing county work, they are spending a lot of time doing campaign work," he said.
Browning acknowledged Monday he has visited Bergy's Web site a few times from his office computer, and said it is possible some of his employees have done the same.
"Not that this is indicative," Browning said dryly, "but I have it as a "Favorite,"' a Web site bookmarked for quick access.
But Browning said he visited out of curiosity, not for campaign purposes.
Bergy has used his Web site to roundly criticize the county's touch screen voting machines and raise questions about Browning's conduct as elections supervisor.
The latest posting: "Pasco Election Officials Obsess on Candidates Web site for Months at Taxpayer Expense." In addition to describing the numerous Web site hits from county computers, Bergy says someone with a pasco.gov e-mail address might have tried to hack into his system.
Browning said he has visited the site a few times "to see what trash is on there today."
"It's nothing but untruths," said Browning, a Republican seeking his seventh term. "I probably read it more for the amusement value than anything else, and I use the term "value' lightly."
But he added: "I don't even look at it anymore. If there was some truthful stuff in there, that would be one thing."
State law prohibits the use of public equipment for campaigns, but Browning said he did not visit Bergy's Web site for campaign purposes.
"I'm not running against Pat Bergy. Patrick Bergy is running against Kurt Browning," Browning said. "He is running for the post. I happen to hold the seat, so I've got a job to do, and I'm going to continue to do my job. Regardless of what is out there on his Web site, it does not affect one iota the way I run my campaign or run my office, period."
Browning also said he would remind his employees about the county's Internet policy: Web access is for work purposes only.
"Am I going to tell my staff to stay off that site? You betcha," Browning said. "They don't need to be accessing his Web site."
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Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com
