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Suncoast Pinellas News

One Gone, One Warned

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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: September 10, 2007

Last week, we said in this space the Pinellas County Commission had to decide if the involvement of County Attorney Susan Churuti and County Administrator Steve Spratt in a controversial land deal between the county and Pinellas Property Appraiser Jim Smith were one-off lapses of judgment that would not be repeated.

In Churuti's case, the answer was no. The seven-member commission voted to oust Churuti from the County Attorney's Office over the land deal, which drew a strong rebuke from a grand jury but no criminal charges.

Spratt was luckier. He drew a public reprimand from the County Commission. Commissioners Calvin Harris and Susan Latvala made separate motions to fire Spratt – Harris wanted Churuti to go as well; Latvala didn't – but neither fire-Spratt motions gained traction with any other commissioners.

If Spratt has any hope to equal the two-decade-plus longevity of his predecessor as county administrator, Fred Marquis, he has to know he has had his one and only mulligan.

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