1675-28 New Hotels 6 of 13, 2 Terms
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mh95 FEINGOLD MAY STAY WITH CITY 06/18/1995
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1995, The Miami Herald
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 10 LENGTH: 55 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Lauarence FEINGOLD
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: ELAINE DE VALLE Herald Staff Writer
FEINGOLD MAY STAY WITH CITY
AS CONVENTION HOTEL COUNSEL
Miami Beach City Attorney Laurence Feingold will leave his City Hall
office on Wednesday, but he might continue working for the city as a special
counsel on convention center hotel negotiations.
Mayor Seymour Gelber said Friday that he would ask the City
Commission on Wednesday to approve the arrangement in which Feingold, who
makes $115,500 a year, would stay on the payroll.
Feingold would work out of the office of Arthur Courshon, chairman of
Jefferson Bank and the city's negotiator on the convention hotel deal. The
mayor didn't know how long Feingold's services would be needed. "Thirty days,
60 days, 90 days. I don't know. It's up to Courshon. "
Gelber also will recommend Wednesday that Murray Dubbin, a Brickell
Avenue lawyer and city attorney in North Bay Village, be appointed acting city
attorney for an "interim period" until a permanent replacement can be found.
"We wouldn't hire someone who was part time in another city . . . full
time," Gelber said. "But as interim, until we get someone else, that wouldn't
be an impediment. I don't view that as a serious problem for the short term. "
In a joint news conference with the mayor on Friday, Feingold announced
his resignation, saying he had a "great desire" to return to private practice.
"In the private sector, the battle lines are always clearly drawn,"
Feingold said. "Your clients are the good guys and your opponents are the bad
guys.
"It is just not that way in government. . . . You do not win a lawsuit in
government law, even when you win, because you are fighting your own
citizens, " he said, citing a case in which SWAT officers are suing the city
and the voting rights lawsuit brought by several Hispanic citizens.
Feingold's departure comes on the heels of his dismissal Monday of his
chief deputy, John Dellagloria, and City Hall insiders said he was forced to
resign. But Gelber denied any political pressure on Feingold.
"The differences between Mr. Feingold and some members of his staff have
created problems which Mr. Feingold has determined can best be resolved by his
resignation, " Gelber said. "He chose the best interest of the city to rise
above personal interests. I laud him for avoiding the controversy and rancor
that appeared imminent."
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mh95 06/13/1995