Hillsborough County residents—including career Republicans, entrepreneurs, and a guy who sued the county—want to help audit its spending as part of a local DOGE committee.

As previously reported, the county opened applications last month for the board that would collaborate with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “EOG DOGE” team.

Anyone selected for the Hillsborough DOGE Liaison Committee will serve “an advisory role to the Board and County Administrator” in working with DeSantis’ team, according to the application.
[content-1] Only one Democrat on county commission—Harry Cohen, who has represented District 1 since 2020—voted against the creation of the county’s DOGE effort last month, noting that “in the past, this board has not had any difficulty voting on and making decisions on spending allocations.”

While these positions are nonpartisan, the idea of DOGE was borne from the Trump administration’s “Dark MAGA” leader, Elon Musk. Hillsborough’s board of county commissioners includes five Republicans and just two Democrats.

Fourteen people applied before applications closed May 2, according to a public records request by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

All applicants are registered to vote in Hillsborough County, but three have no party affiliation. Some participate in partisan politics.

Catherine F. James is a longtime member of the Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus.

Clifton C. Curry, a former regional counsel for the Bush-Cheney campaign, lists Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Suzy Lopez and Chief Judge Christopher Sabella as “friends” in his references.

In 2023, one applicant—Robert Emerson of Apollo Beach—led a class-action lawsuit against the county over the voter-approved county transportation tax known as “All For Transportation.”

The 1% sales tax collected roughly $569 million between 2019-2021, according to WUSF. Road and safety projects were to get 54% of the tax revenue while 45% was earmarked for expanding public transportation in the county.

But the tax was deemed unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in 2021. As a result, $256 million of the collected tax was redirected towards road improvements in the county—the rest is being spent on legal fees and being distributed as part of a refund program for anyone who filled out an application saying they spent money on the tax.

Only five DOGE applicants—who were supposed to list their credentials in accounting, economics, finance, auditing, IT or human resources—will be selected for the unpaid positions.

County staff is still figuring out how and when the applications will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners for a decision, county spokesperson Todd Pratt told CL.

Have a look at all the applicants below.

Krystyna BergerProfession: Director of Ambulatory Healthcare Technologies and Informatics at TGH Other boards: MHA Advisory Board Member for the USF College of Public Health Lived in Hillsborough since: 2002Notable references: Supervisor at TGH, a friend and co-worker. Registered party: No party affiliation Berger’s applications said, “In my current role as TGH IT Director, I have to maintain knowledge of federal, state and local healthcare regulations, budgeting and negotiation.”
Jason BiggersProfession: Director of Technology for Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners Other boards/organizations: Lived in Hillsborough since: 1972 Notable references: Three friends Registered party: Republican Biggers’ application—the only one redacted—says they, “Strategically reduced FTE counts for the Information Technology Department each fiscal year while improving technical outcomes and employee morale.”
Maurice V. de CastroProfession: Compliance officer at Citibank Other boards: Member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists since 2021 Lived in Hillsborough since: 2020 Notable references: His ex-wife Registered party: No party afffiliation Castro touted 21 years in IT and said their role at Citibank is to mitigate risk for the bank in the form of ad-hoc complex, high-risk financial investigations and relationship audits, identifying behavioral patterns, systemic weaknesses, and directly collaborating with law enforcement and other banks.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Danielle EllisProfession: SVP of Regulatory Risks and Controls for Citigroup Financial Services Other boards/organizations: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority member since 2007 Lived in Hillsborough since: 2002 Notable references: Friends and colleagues. Registered party: Democrat Ellis’ application touts work managing “complex, error-prone systems while developing sustainable workarounds to meet deliverables and stakeholder expectations” as qualifications for the committee.
Robert EmersonProfession: Self-employed private investor/financial consultant Other boards/organizations: Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee member 2012-2025 Lived in Hillsborough since: 2012 Notable references: Rep. Mike Owen (R-Apollo Beach), 2024 Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4 Republican candidate and real estate broker Cody Powell, real estate broker Mike Greer Registered party: Republican In the application, Emerson wrote that they have deep experience in financial analysis, budgeting, planning economics, investments and insurance risk management at several Fortune 100 companies over many years.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Minh Anh NguyenProfession: Retired project manager/program specialist Other boards/organizations: Volunteer since 2017 for Hillsborough County’s Diversity Advisory Council and City of Tampa Mayor’s Asian American Pacific Islander Advisory Council Lived in Hillsborough since: 1984 Registered party: Republican Notable references: Did not list any In the application, Nguyen listed experience in data analysis, report making and leadership as qualifications for the committee.
Jason BiggersProfession: Director of Technology for Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners Other boards/organizations: Lived in Hillsborough since: 1972 Notable references: Three friends Registered party: Republican Biggers’ application—the only one redacted—says they, “Strategically reduced FTE counts for the Information Technology Department each fiscal year while improving technical outcomes and employee morale.”
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Clifton C. Curry Profession: President/owner and attorney, Curry Law Group, P.A. Specializes in civil trials involving commercial, personal injury, family issues and general business litigation Other boards/organizations: Numerous Brandon-based charities and community organizations. Lived in Hillsborough since: 1957 Notable references: Sheriff Chad Chronister, State Attorney Susan Lopez, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella—all listed as “friend.” Registered party: Republican Curry’s application touts his work with foster kids and a three-decades long involvement in Republican politics, including work as regional counsel with the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and during 2000’s “hanging chad” debacle.
Jacob WhitworthProfession: Senior cybersecurity engineer at Modern Technology Solution Other boards/organizations: Lived in Hillsborough since: 2022 Notable references: Manager, coworker Registered party: No party affiliation Whitworth cites eight years of professional IT experience in nonprofit, government, and private organizations.
Gov. Ron DeSantis Credit: Photo via Ron DeSantis/X
Gov. Ron DeSantis at The Vault in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Photo via GovRonDeSantis/Twitter

Selene San Felice is managing editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Prior to joining CL in 2025, she started the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter and worked for her hometown paper, The Capital in Annapolis,...

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...