Stacy White faces state ethics complaint alleging 27 violations

Dr. Stacey White
The complaint stems from White's All For Transportation lawsuit.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White could be in hot water if the Florida Ethics Commission agrees with a Hillsborough County resident who complained White broke several ethics laws.

White said the complaint against him is a baseless “political stunt.”

James Shirk, a Hillsborough County civil engineer and political activist, filed an ethics complaint this week alleging at least 27 state violations stemming from a lawsuit White filed last year seeking to strike down the voter-approved transportation sales tax known as All For Transportation. A judge threw out White’s lawsuit. 

“White has used his office to further this lawsuit against the very County he serves by improperly using the powers of his office to obtain tens of thousands of dollars in gifts, to compel public employees to further his case to his personal benefit, to attempt to unilaterally enter into legal contracts in his official capacity, to use his office to obtain gifts and violating the ban on gifts from political committees,” his complaint reads.

It also claims he violated Florida’s Sunshine Laws by omitting information from ethics commission filings, failing to provide requested public records in a timely manner and failing to disclose a conflict of interest to the board he serves.

Shortly after voters approved the All For Transportation referendum last November, White complained to fellow board members during a public meeting that he believed the new charter provision violated state statute. He later filed a lawsuit in his capacity as an elected official.

Shirk’s complaint argues White broke state ethics laws barring elected officials from individually suing the government for whom they work. White did not seek approval from the Board of County Commissioners to sue the county over the transportation tax charter.

In addition, the complaint alleges White directed a political consultant who conducts paid work for his political committee to coordinate legal action with Bascom Communications, a public relations firm that represented White during the lawsuit, and an aide in his public office. The complaint names Audie Canney as the consultant. Shirk alleges the coordination between parties constitutes a gift from his own political committee.  

Shirk also claims White used county staff and resources “on multiple occasions.” He lists four occasions in November and December of 2018 in which White directed his staff to assist with the lawsuit. White’s official staff worked with Bascom Communications to produce documents for the case despite no documented arrangement with Bascom.

The complaint also lays out several possible disclosure violations related to receiving gifts and providing public records.

White did not disclose services from Bascom Communications as a gift. He also did not disclose all services Shirk said would be considered a gift from legal services White obtained from the law firm Baker Lopez Gassler. White did disclose services from his lead attorney, Chris Altenbernd, but he did not disclose services from at least two other attorneys Shirk claims “spent nearly two hours working on [White’s] case.”

The most recent disclosure forms also do not put a value on services rendered. Court documents show Altenbernd charges $400 per hour.

Shirk also claims White withheld public records. According to his complaint, another resident, transit consultant Kevin Thurman, requested all emails and texts related to White’s lawsuit. Thurman reportedly requested those documents in December and did not receive them until January. Further, the complaint argues White’s office initially withheld at least seven emails and text messages that were later discovered in another records request in March.

Lastly, the complaint accuses White of using Hillsborough County’s official seal for “impermissible purposes. That complaint is based on a press conference White held in a commission conference room last October in which he publicly opposed the transportation tax.

White spoke in front of the county seal. Florida law requires “express approval of the governing body” to use a county seal in communication. No members of the press attended the event, but it was later posted to YouTube.

If the Florida Commission on Ethics finds the complaint “legally sufficient” it will investigate further.

White’s complaint specific evidence for its claims including media reports, publicly available legal documents, Florida State Statutes and information available on various different website. Shirk included citations for all of his claims and attached relevant evidence supporting them in his 14-page complaint.

Shirk based some of his allegations on text messages and emails acquired through a public records request that he notes are available by request.

The ethics commission limits complaints to 15-pages. If it decides to investigate, the investigator would review all relevant evidence related to the complaint, the group’s website explains.

“Unfortunately, we live in an age where ethics complaints are used as political weapons.  Any person can file an ethics complaint against any elected official for any reason, even if it is baseless.  This does not mean that the Florida Commission on Ethics will find probable cause to even hear the complaint, much less ultimately uphold it,” White said.

“And, to be frank, that is exactly what we have here – a baseless ethics complaint has been filed by a known political operative because he is disgruntled over my asking the judicial branch of our government to determine whether or not the amendment to the Hillsborough County Charter that passed last November is lawful.”

Sarah Bascom, President of Bascom Communications, called the complaint “frivolous.”

“I donated my services directly to attorney Martin Garcia and we agreed to provide him with PR services on a pro bono basis,” she said.

Despite the long list of allegations, some might not fall under the ethics commission’s jurisdiction. The public watchdog group does not have authority in complaints related to public records or public meetings, which applies to some of Shirk’s complaint.

Stacy White ethics complaint by Janelle Irwin Taylor on Scribd

Janelle Irwin Taylor

Janelle Irwin Taylor has been a professional journalist covering local news and politics in Tampa Bay since 2003. Most recently, Janelle reported for the Tampa Bay Business Journal. She formerly served as senior reporter for WMNF News. Janelle has a lust for politics and policy. When she’s not bringing you the day’s news, you might find Janelle enjoying nature with her husband, children and two dogs. You can reach Janelle at [email protected].


10 comments

  • Kevin Thurman

    April 30, 2019 at 4:22 pm

    It’s interesting that Sarah Bascom had a very different view of passthrough gifts when she worked for Desantis in 2018.

    • George Niemann

      April 30, 2019 at 10:02 pm

      It is obvious that Mr Shirk didn’t write such a detailed complaint without some help/advice. Mr.Thurman (AFT Do-Boy), was his complaint hand written or typed? I only ask because we may want to do some forensic analysis….(Shill = Also called a plant or a stooge, is a person who publicly helps or gives credibility to a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with the person or organization).

      • Kevin Thurman

        May 1, 2019 at 2:51 am

        Read the complaint, I handed him the files from the requests I did of Mr. White and his contractors. It’s literally in there.

        Given that you find that hard to understand that means the rest of your nonsense that you and the same five friends make up with your conspiracy pals is no surprise.

        You lack of interest in elected officials properly following ethics laws is just depressing.

        • George Niemann

          May 1, 2019 at 12:49 pm

          Since Mr Shirk is doing yours and AFT’s bidding, I hope at least you bought him dinner. After all, shills should be taken care of, don’t you agree?

  • James Shirk

    April 30, 2019 at 4:44 pm

    I am not a ‘political operative,’ I’ve never received a penny for my activism, and in fact pay my own way to the National Bike Summit every year. I’m not disgruntled about his asking the question, I’m outraged that he and his cronies are preventing spending on safety measures for bicyclists and pedestrians in Hillsborough Count, where we have record numbers of riders and walkers maimed and killed every year for lack of safe infrastructure.

    • Charlotte Greenbarg

      April 30, 2019 at 6:21 pm

      You conveniently ignore the many years of a Commission that spent almost nothing on the problem. Comm White is correct and Tyler Hudson admitted it was a fraud. I’m outraged at that

    • Tom Rask

      April 30, 2019 at 6:22 pm

      Mr. Shirk, the FCE has no role in enforcing the Florida public records law (chapter 119). It also has no role in enforcing chapter 122. And that’s just for starters.

      You will be paying Stacy White tens of thousands of dollars to cover his legal fees. The FCE does not look kindly on these kinds of frivolous complaints.

    • George Niemann

      April 30, 2019 at 9:48 pm

      “Political Operative” has nothing to do with being paid (definition = “a person who works toward achieving the objectives of a larger interest”). It is clear that your goal is to bring down someone that is getting in the way of the political action group, All For Transportation. It’s evident that AFT must have helped you put that complaint together. Some of them may be lawyers but it is obvious that they don’t know much about the ethics statutes. They may have counseled you otherwise, however, I don’t think they gave you good legal advice because I doubt any of your charges will meet the legal sufficiency threshold. Also, Mr Rask is correct concerning an official’s ability to seek reimbursement for legal costs if your case gets thrown out…Uh Oh, I guess AFT forgot to caution you on that one. BTW, if you do some google inquiries you will see that I have some experience with filing successful ethics cases. Don’t feel bad, though. I think AFT should at least buy you lunch.

      • BJohnM

        May 1, 2019 at 8:49 am

        I think is goal is to bring attention to a County Commissioner who has long since decided to represent his own interests as opposed to those of the citizens. Just look at White’s original suit. First, 70% or so of voters said yes to the tax…Stacy didn’t like it, and apparently doesn’t think 70% should have their say. Then, he acts illegally in actually filing the suit. But, you keep on ranting and supporting a lying bigot.

      • BJohnM

        May 1, 2019 at 8:49 am

        I think his goal is to bring attention to a County Commissioner who has long since decided to represent his own interests as opposed to those of the citizens. Just look at White’s original suit. First, 70% or so of voters said yes to the tax…Stacy didn’t like it, and apparently doesn’t think 70% should have their say. Then, he acts illegally in actually filing the suit. But, you keep on ranting and supporting a lying bigot.

Comments are closed.


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