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Tax collector's race a clash of old friends
By ALISA ULFERTS © St. Petersburg Times, published September 3, 2000 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Almost anywhere else, you might expect the race for tax collector to be a real yawner. Not in Pasco, not this year. The two men fighting for the responsibility to collect your car fees, property taxes and other service fees are incumbent Tax Collector Mike Olson and outgoing County Commissioner David "Hap" Clark. Fellow Democrats and friends for 40 years, Olson and Clark have waged what can be called the most contentious campaign of the season. Already, Olson has sued Clark for more than $1-million after Clark mailed a flier that said Olson sexually harassed six former employees. Olson mailed out his own flier that called Clark "The Man Who Brought Gambling to Pasco County," a reference to property Clark rents out for gambling boats. Except for the lawsuit, Clark accounts for most of the action: He filed to run for tax collector with 30 minutes to spare after he'd filed preliminary papers to run for re-election as a county commissioner -- and after Olson said he supported Eileen Ferdinand for Clark's County Commission seat. Clark and his wife have supplied several former tax collector employees with the necessary forms to file complaints against Olson with the state Commission on Ethics. Clark and the former employees say Olson spends too much time running campaigns from his taxpayer-funded office. To prove that, Clark took pictures of Olson's and Ferdinand's cars parked outside the west Pasco Government Center on a Saturday afternoon. "I might get beat, but I'm having fun," Clark said the day after he and his brother took the photos. Olson and Ferdinand acknowledge meeting at the government center, but say they drove to a nearby Lowe's parking lot to discuss politics. Olson acknowledges that prospective candidates, mostly Democrats but a few Republicans, come to his office to discuss campaign strategy. But his interest in the local political scene doesn't interfere with his duties as tax collector, Olson said. As for the former employees who are filing complaints against him, Olson said their opinion was not shared by all. Hap Clark's daughter, Susie, worked for the tax collector's office on several separate occasions. Olson dug through her personnel file until he found her resignation letters, in which Susie Clark thanked her supervisors and said she had a pleasant experience working in the office. If working for him is so awful, Olson asks, why didn't his opponent's daughter say so? Olson further accused Clark of voting according to the wishes of developers who pumped money into his 1992 and 1996 campaigns, which Olson helped run, according to both men. Aside from the personal sniping, very few tax collector issues have been discussed by either candidate. Clark says it's time for a change in that office and as a man of integrity and dedication he's the one to make that change. Olson touts his success in running the office the past 20 years and his opening of several branch offices. Because both candidates in this race are Democrats, Tuesday's primary is open to all registered voters, and whoever wins the primary is elected. Several high-profile Republicans have taken advantage of the open primary opportunity to support Clark and try to cripple Olson. State Sen. Jack Latvala, Pasco Republican Executive Committee Chairman Jeff Lucas and former County Commissioner Ed Collins all have endorsed Clark. Olson responded to their endorsement, calling Clark an "unwitting pawn" in a game waged by "Republican mucky-mucks." "These political operatives don't care one whit about Hap. They're just using him as a political pawn," Olson said in a statement after the Republicans announced their support. "Despite the fact that he's running against me, I hate to see an old friend used this way," Olson continued. To which Clark responded: "Sounds like he's scared." The relationship between the men is a far cry from where it started some 40 years ago, when Clark was Olson's eighth-grade homeroom teacher at Gulf High School. Clark, 78, has been a county commissioner since 1992. He is a native Floridian who was born in New Port Richey and followed the example set by his father and grandfather, both of whom served as Pasco County commissioners. Olson, 55, has been tax collector since 1980. He served as a county commissioner before that and was instrumental in getting the county's first utilities acquisition program off the ground. He is a lifelong resident of Pasco, and his family has been involved in the local political scene since 1912. The two men maintained a friendship until Clark filed to run against Olson. Clark has acknowledged that he decided to run after Olson told him to retire. "He claims he has a silver bullet to kill my campaign," Clark has said. "He thinks he's that powerful." Olson said having a friend decide to run against him on the last day to qualify was a shock. "I love the guy. I love Hap Clark." But that won't stop him from fighting for re-election, Olson said. "He doesn't stand a chance of winning. I'm not afraid of Hap."
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