At a recent candidates’ forum in Progress Village, the first time the three Democrats running for the Hillsborough County Commission District 3 seat had gathered together this campaign season, not a word was uttered about incumbent Commissioner Kevin White’s troubles from a year ago.
That’s when White, 45, lost a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former aide, Alyssa Ogden. When his fellow commissioners discovered that Hillsborough County would be on the hook for White’s $425,000 in legal fees, they sued him to recoup some of that money. White sued the county right back.
Neither of White’s opponents — former state Senator Les Miller or Valerie Goddard, chair of the Hillsborough County Children’s Board — dared bring up the issue. Nor have they on the campaign stump. The only criticism that Goddard delivered at the debate was one she’s made frequently on the campaign trail — that Kevin White hasn’t been there for his constituents in a district that contains some of the city and county’s poorest neighborhoods.
This article appears in Aug 5-11, 2010.