The daily newspaper has finally spoken on the Touart/Bauer land deal. Their position is that County Administrator George Touart should retire.
The hard truth is that the adage “innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t apply in the court of public opinion. That is why government officials bear a heavy burden to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
Because of Touart’s actions, can anyone doubt that there now are serious questions in the minds of many taxpayers about whether his official actions have been influenced by his outside connections?
Retirement is a real possibility for Touart. He has repeatedly said he came back to Escambia County to do just that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not considering it…maybe sometime after the first of the year.
