George Touart Wants Gene Valentino’s Commission Seat

October 13, 2009

Former Escambia County Administrator George Touart wants back into county government, and if he reaches his goal it won’t been good news for current Commissioner Gene Valentino.

georgetuart11.jpgTouart prefiled Monday for the District 2 seat that is currently held by Valentino. Valentino has also announced he wants to return to his commission seat; he prefiled last Tuesday.

Touart resigned his county administrator job in September 2007 after an ethics complaint was filed against him by Preston Soloman of Walnut Hill and Michael Coonon of Pensacola. The complaint, which alleged he conducted personal business with companies doing business with the county, was dismissed without merit by Florida’s ethics commission.

The commission voted in March to pay the $3,629.60 Touart spent defending himself against the ethics complain. Marie Young and Kevin White voted against paying the bills, while Valentino,  Grover Robinson and Wilson Robinson in favor.

Valentino pleaded no contest to non-criminal charges that he failed to turn over emails in a timely manner in response to a public records request. He was fined $500 over the emails about a proposed bingo establishment on Perdido Key.

There are three other men currently running for the District 2 seat, which represents the southwestern part of the county and Perdido Key. They are Robert Kelly, Andy Kolwalski and Scott Gauvin.

Comments

14 Responses to “George Touart Wants Gene Valentino’s Commission Seat”

  1. robert Hudson on October 16th, 2009 7:28 am

    I am glad i do not live in that district, Two of the same kind.

  2. bunchofbologne on October 14th, 2009 8:07 pm

    Wasn’t George Touart’s son employed at Roads Inc during that time? I believe he was a supervisor for Roads Inc around the time Mr Touart allowed Roads Inc to dig the pit in that residential neghborhood, calling it a catfish pond. Touart took charge of everything surrounding it when the neighbors started complaining it wasn’t a catfish pond afterall. Then all phone calls were directed to McLaughlin for Touart. McLaughlin sounded like a broken record. “IT IS A CATFISH POND”. Finally after 2 1/2 years and Touart’s resignation the commisioners vote it is a pit and shut it down. Amazingly the fox returns to the henhouse for more……….to be continued……….

  3. escambiamom on October 14th, 2009 4:43 pm

    Idunno,

    The trucks are gone now. But we had to spend a lot of time (2+ years) getting the county to do the right thing. Do you want to know why? Because Mr. Touart and the current administrator, McLaughlin, were helping them at every turn! Showing them how they could avoid taking out a Borrow Pit (clay pit) permit like most contractors would have had to do. Talk to a contractor you trust and ask them if THEY would have gotten that treatment. The ones we have talked to just laugh and shake their heads.

    The lot that Roads Inc. bought was not zoned for a Borrow Pit. They would have had to appealed at a Board of Adjustment hearing, with public input, to get special permission. With the limited access to their property they probably knew that they wouldn’t get approved. So they went with the Catfish Pond story. Mr. Touart had his hand in this from the beginning telling the neighbors that they needed no permits (while secretly having a ’stormwater permit’ issued after the complaints were lodged.) Believe me, I have heard it from the staff that they knew who was keeping this from being stopped…Candidate Touart. Ask his former county attorney what the problem was.

    I do not oppose legal development and I am not just a NIMBY poster. I have binders full of information. I just don’t want people to **forget** that however many times Mr. Touart wants to spin his past “public perception” woes, there were MANY other problems besides the several ethics complaints that were dismissed for lack of evidence. The ethics investigations seem to be joke around here anyway.

    I received a rude awakening when I familiarized myself with our county government and I determined that I would at least stand up and speak about the things that I know personally. Mr. Touart needs to stay retired. And the Code Enforcement department that he and Mr. McLaughlin have cultivated needs to be cleaned up and reorganized. I also am not a fan of the current administrator, as you can tell. Your mileage may vary.

  4. idunno on October 14th, 2009 3:42 pm

    To Ms Escambiamom: Have you ever had any type dirt or sand delivered to your home? Maybe for a foundation, driveway, or erosion problem? Did you know that most homes have dirt in their foundations now? Now think……where did the dirt come from? Did you complain & cry when county or state dump trucks laid asphalt on your road? Did you cry when they completed drainage work? Where does dirt come from you ask??????? It comes from ponds that are Man Made and from licensed pits. I know it’s annoying to have trucks in and around the quiet neighborhood…..but don’t cry…..they’ll be gone soon…..

  5. bunchofbologne on October 14th, 2009 11:18 am

    He must think the people of this town have NO MEMORIES. Tired of the “Good Ol Boys” Toaurt go away….please be gone already….This is embarrassing for Escambia County.

  6. escambiamom on October 14th, 2009 9:04 am

    More eye rolling rhetoric:
    http://www.inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=10717

    You would think that we, the people of Escambia County, were stupid or something. It is just a public “perception” problem. It’s all our fault for misunderstanding. He thinks he did nothing wrong.

    Wait until the candidate forums, when Touart can not control the interview.

  7. escambiamom on October 14th, 2009 12:18 am

    Good ol’ George!
    Responsible for running defense for the Roads Inc. improperly permitted “Catfish Pond”/Clay Pit and Dump Truck Parade in a North Escambia neighborhood for almost 2 years.

    No second helpings of THAT, please!!

    (Just ’cause you didn’t get criminally charged with stuff, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, by the way. The Ethics board must really like you …)

  8. J D on October 13th, 2009 3:55 pm

    Incumbents need to be scrutinised very closely and if they havent performed to the very highest standards they should be voted out. No matter the party. They have told us what we need for to long. now they need to listen to what we have to say.

  9. Bob on October 13th, 2009 10:02 am

    Don’t vote in this district but someone needs to tell ole George we are tired of what we have had in the past I think the whole county will rise up against these people who have earnestly endeavored to waste our tax dollars. Good Honest Hard working business persons with common sense are the people needed to run our gov’t. Not the highly political money motivated people we have voted for in the past.

  10. LULU on October 13th, 2009 9:25 am

    Unblievable!! Crook vs Crook!! The good old boys don’t give up easily do they? LOL Hopefully the voters will pick from the other 3 who are running

  11. southernlady on October 13th, 2009 8:59 am

    Oversight, there are actually 3 others prefiled for that office.

  12. Oversight on October 13th, 2009 6:19 am

    Nice title for the article “Molino Mom!”

    Talk about two cut from the same cloth, these two are it. How about a third challenger, which would give the voters a better choice?

  13. SJ on October 13th, 2009 4:04 am

    I hear ya Molino Mom both Touart & Valentino needs to be out. That’s Like replaceing a bad apple with another bad apple. “It Leaves a bitter taste in your mouth!”

  14. Molino Mom on October 13th, 2009 12:33 am

    I have a better headline for this story:

    “Two Arrogant Crooks Seek Commission Seat”

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News