Sunrise City Atty Makes Bid for "V" Word

Check it out. Buddy Nevins reports that Sunrise City Attorney Stuart Michelson is actually saving the city legal fees, possibly even justifying his $432,000 contract.You may remember that Michelson took lots of flak en route to his new position, and deservedly so. Here's a guy who had represented two commissioners...

By Thomas Francis

February 11, 2009

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Check it out. Buddy Nevins reports that Sunrise City Attorney Stuart Michelson is actually saving the city legal fees, possibly even justifying his $432,000 contract.

You may remember that Michelson took lots of flak en route to his new position, and deservedly so. Here's a guy who had represented two commissioners -- Roger Wishner and Sheila Alu -- in a lawsuit, who was campaign treasure in outgoing Mayor Steven Feren's judicial campaign, and who landed the city attorney's job before it was even listed. Nor did it help appearances when news broke on Daily Pulp that Michelson ruled that Wishner deserved to be named the new mayor in Feren's absence, without an election. Quid quo pro, anyone?

In December Bob Norman wrote a thorough column explaining why Sunrise residents should have a crisis of faith. You can't read it without being reminded of every banana republic where rebels stage a coup, only to become despotic themselves, leading to the next rebellion, and so on. Nevins has also been a fierce critic of the Michelson move.

Michelson has no reason to the massage the egos of the reporters who chastised him, but maybe the critical coverage gave him extra incentive to justify his hiring. Whatever his reason, let's not call it "validation," exactly. Michelson's just doing his job -- one for which he's handsomely remunerated.

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