News Journal columnist Mark O’Brien adds himself to the list of PNJ columnists and opinion writers asking the County Administrator George Touart to retire/resign ( By George, the man is the Donald Trump of the Panhandle).
My position is that if Touart wants to keep his job then he needs to give full disclosure of his finances from 2002-2007. He needs to release personal income tax returns, business tax returns and a list of his property transactions. We need to know about any hunting camps, boats and fishing/hunting trips that he has taken with developers, contractors, county vendors and commissioners.
Without full disclosure, there will always be doubts about the integrity of county government. There has always been a cloud of innuendo hovering over Touart. People fell into three camps: friends and supporters of George, enemies of George and those wondering what the heck is going on with the county.
Pres. Reagan used to say, “Trust, but verify.” We need to verify that Touart’s personal business dealings have not impacted his actions as county administrator.