When local candidates had to report their second quarter financials last Friday, one of the most interesting developments was how GOP Hillsborough County Commission candidate in District 7, Josh Burgin, had raised more than $40,000, eclipsing slightly the amount raised in the 2nd quarter by the incumbent, Mark Sharpe. That was despite the fact that Burgin entered the race on the last day possible, Friday June 18.
More become apparent about those financials yesterday, and Hillsborough voters can do with that information what they want, but it's information that is absolutely relevant.
Various news agencies reported last night and this morning that more than half of that $40K came from loans that Burgin gave to his own campaign, and from a severance package that Burgin received from his former employer, Hillsborough County GOP heavyweight Sam Rashid.
Burgin resigned from his job at Holtec USA, Inc. on June 18, the same day he received a generous severance after working at Holtec for two year of either $25,000 or $30,000 (news agencies are reporting different figures), also the same day he qualified for the District 7 race.
According to the St. Pete Times, his annual salary at Holtec was $34,019.
Both Burgin and Rashid have said that Josh came to the conclusion to run against Sharpe independently, and are saying that there was no "specific sort of understanding" when it came to how that quite generous severance was put into Burgin's campaign coffers,
Did we forget to say that Rashid very much would like to see Burgin defeat Mark Sharpe on August 24?
Burgin says this is all a distraction, and the issue is Mark Sharpe's support for the one cent sales tax referendum on transit this November.
No doubt that is an extremely hot issue in this Republican primary, and for the longest time it appeared that despite all of that anger towards Sharpe in the local GOP on the issue, he looked like he might escape a contested primary, until Burgin stepped in on the last day of qualifiying.
GOP voters in District 7 will have to weigh all these factors starting now, as voting by absentee is happening at this moment. Early voting begins in 12 days, and of course, we have August 24.
Burgin has Rashid have both insisted that the local media has been unfair since Burgin stepped into the race last month, claiming incorrectly that Burgin is the vessel for Rashid to act out a revenge scenario against Sharpe for going against a central tenet that Florida Republicans (and most nationally) seem to live by, that there is never a time for a tax of any sort. But this story obviously will do nothing to hush that speculation.
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.