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Elections chief's link to candidate draws scrutiny

The candidate's role in building the Hillsborough official's home raises questions of a conflict of interest.

By JEFF TESTERMAN
Published October 1, 2006

TAMPA - As elections supervisor, Buddy Johnson is expected to take a neutral stance toward all political candidates.

But Johnson has especially close ties to Al Higginbotham, a candidate for the Hillsborough County Commission. Higginbotham helped Johnson get his elections job and is co-owner of the company that built Johnson's new home.

The elections supervisor built the three-bedroom, two-bath home on land in the Thonotosassa Lake area that he purchased from his parents three years ago for $45,000. He used a $213,000 mortgage loan for construction.

When the home was nearly complete, Johnson valued it at $340,000, according to his most recent financial disclosure statement. The 2,004-square-foot home is now his most valuable asset.

The home sets off alarms for Lisa Rodriguez, the Democrat running against Higginbotham.

"As far back as I can remember, the supervisor was neutral, but all of a sudden, it's not being handled that way," Rodriguez said. "I don't think Buddy should stay on the Canvassing Board if he has this close relationship with Al Higginbotham."

Johnson is on the three-member county Canvassing Board, which has the authority to accept or reject certain ballots, and can determine the outcome of close elections. Rodriguez said the house contract from Higginbotham's company makes Johnson's role on the Canvassing Board untenable.

"It's definitely a conflict of interest," Rodriguez said. "It just doesn't look good. It just taints the whole election."

Johnson said he sees no conflict.

He said Friday that the contract with Higginbotham's company was signed on Feb. 17, 2005, months before Higginbotham filed papers to run for the County Commission.

"It was long before I had any knowledge of any candidacy," he said.

Would Johnson recuse himself on the Canvassing Board if an issue arose involving Higginbotham?

"I would assess that situation and, as you know, protect the integrity of the system," Johnson said, "And it wouldn't matter whether that was Rodriguez or Higginbotham or someone else."

* * *

Higginbotham grew up in Plant City, attended the University of Florida and worked as an aide to Bill Gunter, a U.S. representative and Florida insurance commissioner, before moving to Orlando and entering the real estate business.

In the bio on his Web site, Higginbotham says that in 1991 he was considering moving to Wyoming to raise his family when a friend persuaded him to return to Plant City to work in the family nursery business and assist in a political campaign.

The friend was Fred Johnson, Higginbotham's college roommate. The political campaign was a run for the state House by Fred's brother, Buddy Johnson. The Johnson brothers were making a name for themselves with BuddyFreddys, a Plant City restaurant specializing in southern-style food.

Higginbotham worked in Johnson's campaign, helping him to the first of three House terms.

Higginbotham also worked in the 1998 and 2002 Jeb Bush gubernatorial campaigns and the 2000 George W. Bush presidential campaign. Beginning in 2002, Higginbotham served as vice chairman, then as chairman of the Hillsborough County Republican Party.

Buddy Johnson, meanwhile, accepted appointments from Jeb Bush to become director of the state Division of Real Estate, then, in 2003, Hillsborough's supervisor of elections.

Higginbotham said he wrote a letter of recommendation to help persuade the governor to appoint Johnson to the elections job. In 2004, when Johnson won the job in his own election, Higginbotham was atop the local GOP, which contributed $5,600 to Johnson's campaign.

After Johnson was appointed elections chief, Higginbotham said he adopted a "self-imposed restriction" to keep his distance from Johnson. "I was the chairman of the Republican Party, and he became supervisor and we were both from the same small town of Plant City, and I didn't want to have people getting the wrong impression," Higginbotham said.

His self-imposed restriction to keep his distance was not evident, however, when Buddy Johnson contracted with Archive Properties to build his home on Cherry Tree Lane.

Higginbotham initially said that a question of a conflict involving Johnson "never crossed my mind" because the company is his wife's, not his.

But in a financial disclosure filed this summer, Higginbotham said he did have a financial interest in Archive Properties - 25 shares, valued at $1,000 a share - at the end of 2005, when Johnson's home was being completed. His wife, Devon, said she owns the remaining 75 shares in the company.

"I guess I am an owner," Higginbotham said, when reminded of his disclosure. He said he is "not involved with the company," has never been inside Johnson's new home and knew no details of the contract.

Rodriguez says she feels handicapped in a race where her opponent is closely tied to the elections chief and east Hillsborough Republican power brokers. That's why she says it doesn't matter that Buddy Johnson and Devon Higginbotham say that the elections chief got no special deal on his house. "Buddy and Al are part of a circle of friends, and I'm afraid no matter what I do, this election is going to go Republican," she said.

"I hate to say this, but this supervisor of elections is going to have to be watched."

Researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Jeff Testerman can be reached at 813 226-3422 or testerman@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 1, 2006, 08:59:48]