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Politics

Rookies aim for Smith's position

Two announce they want to be Pinellas property appraiser.

By WILL VAN SANT, Times Staff Writer
Published November 8, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Republican Tom Minkoff serves on the executive committee of the St. Petersburg Bar Association. Democrat Ben Friedlander is a past president of the St. Petersburg/Suncoast Association of Realtors. [Douglas R. Clifford | Times] Jim Smith has said he is undecided about seeking another term.

Pinellas County Property Appraiser Jim Smith hasn't faced an election opponent in 15 years, but those days are over for the unrepentant incumbent.

Republican Tom Minkoff and Democrat Ben Friedlander have filed paperwork allowing them to campaign for the seat Smith has held since 1988. Smith's current term expires at the end of next year.

Minkoff, attorney for the local GOP until recently, and Friedlander, a veteran Realtor, both are seeking office for the first time. Both say the recent debacle surrounding Smith's sale of his private land to the county - a deal that sparked a grand jury probe - prompted them to run.

"I certainly see some problems with ethical issues," said Friedlander, 56. "The property he sold was a multiple of what he was appraising it at."

Smith, a Republican, did not return a call to his office or to his personal cell phone for this story. Two weeks ago the 67-year-old Smith, who maintains he neither sought nor was given favorable treatment by the county, said he hadn't decided whether to run again.

The property appraiser serves a four-year term and is now paid $149,604. The general election is a year away.

Minkoff lives in Gulfport and serves on the executive committee of the St. Petersburg Bar Association. Last year, he received a volunteer of the year award from Gulfcoast Legal services for his work representing domestic violence victims.

Minkoff contends Smith has lost the public's confidence and that his office has forgotten to put taxpayers first.

"As a real estate attorney," he said, " I know firsthand that the valuation system most beneficial to government has not been fair to property owners."

Friedlander, a photography enthusiast, has run Big Ben Realty in St. Petersburg since 1989. He is a past president of the St. Petersburg/Suncoast Association of Realtors.

Friedlander said he would work to make it easier for taxpayers to understand how the appraiser's office works and how valuations are calculated.

He also said he believes political diversity in the upper echelons of Pinellas government could help prevent gaffes like the Smith fiasco, which led to the firing of the county attorney and the resignation of the county administrator.

Five of the seven Pinellas County commissioners are Republicans, as are the five county constitutional officers.

Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 7, 2007, 23:14:20]