Cranky old Leo Coughlin is always ripping on Largo politicians and administrators. The opinion writer for the Clearwater Gazette apparently went too far for the City Manager and others when he said that “Largo, pound for pound, is probably the most corrupt city in America.” Three Largo officials are demanding a retraction.
Leo Coughlin
6 months ago
Harriet Crozier was elected to the Largo City Commission; her husband, Bobby, was hired as a city worker some months later — that is the definition of nepotism. A former Largo City Commissioner, Pat Burke, importuned a city official to arrange for her boyfriend to get the franchise for the coffee shop in the new Largo Library — that is the definition of cronyism. The then city manager, Steve Stanton, who later turned himself into a woman, contrived to get rid of a city commissioner by alleging, in part, an inappropriate relationship (not true) with the city clerk — that is the definition of misuse of power. The present city manager had a program of secret bonuses to select city employees, a program that was, according to a Florida Attorney General’s Opinion, illegal — that is the definition of a violation of law. These are just a few instances. Nepotism, cronyism, misuse of office, illegal acts — are all elements of corruption.