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Suncoast Pasco News

Unneeded Help

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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: October 24, 2007

If it kept to its schedule, the Pasco County Commission should have named a replacement to Robert Sumner as county attorney. We hope things went well because the hunt had a major flaw. We hope the commission learns this lesson for the next time it has to replace a county attorney – and perhaps the heads of other county government departments.

Sumner, in a moment of rare foot-in- mouth disease, allowed himself to be quoted in public as pretty much dismissing one of his would-be successors, Land O' Lakes area attorney Timothy Hayes, as someone likely to do the bidding of developers. Sumner is welcome to his opinion about Hayes. He's not the only one to hold it or the first to publicly voice it. That view – we take no stand as to whether it is right or wrong – is shared by many of the people in Pasco who are unhappy with the pace of development in the county and want county government to apply the brakes whenever possible.

The problem was Sumner served on the panel that reviewed the county attorney applicants, including Chief Assistant County Attorney Barbara Wilhite, along with Commissioner Ted Schrader and County Administrator John Gallagher.

Holding the feelings he seemingly has regarding Hayes, and given the presence of a longtime subordinate in the race for county attorney, Sumner should have stepped away from the process of naming his successor. We're confident the County Commission could have handled the job without his help.

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