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Mayor Names Fletcher As Tampa City Attorney

News Channel 8 image by PETER MASA

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio announces that Chip Fletcher, center, will be the new city attorney. He replaces David Smith, left, who is returning to private practice.

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

Updated: 06/18/2008 03:33 pm

TAMPA - After hundreds of city council meetings, scores of lawsuits and dozens of legal opinions, City Attorney David Smith is resigning.

Mayor Pam Iorio is tapping Chip Fletcher as his replacement. Fletcher, an expert on environmental law, was an interim city councilman from December 2006 through March 2007.

Before going to work for the city, Smith was with the law firm of GrayRobinson, where he specialized in real estate law. He will return to the firm, where he will hold a leadership position. He said the firm wants to create a positive image in the community and expand in Tampa.

His last day with the city is July 18.

Smith is known around City Hall for not only his legal knowledge but for his fanciful ties. He also enjoys a reputation as a sesquipedalian – someone who tends to use big words.

"What is an opportunity for me at this juncture is also a sad leave taking," Smith said at a news conference today. "It's an opportunity I can't pass by at this juncture. But my heart will still be here."

Iorio hired Smith in 2004 after interim city attorney Fred Karl resigned. Smith took the job with the understanding he would have time to care for his ailing wife, Ann, who suffered from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Smith's wife has since died. He now is married to JoAnn Urofsky, who works for WUSF radio.

Smith, 58, supervised 18 full-time and six part-time attorneys and about 15 staff members. He made about $156,000. He acknowledged that a higher salary in the private sector was a factor in his decision to leave.

Smith will be prohibited from representing anyone coming before the city council or the executive branch for two years, according to the city's ethics rules.

When Smith told Iorio he planned to leave the city, Iorio quickly thought of Fletcher as a replacement. She said she was impressed by his work as an interim city councilman and that he deftly handled the legalities concerning an environmental issue with the Hillsborough River.

Iorio made Fletcher a job offer over lunch at the University Club.

"I am honored to be given this opportunity," Fletcher said today.

Fletcher replaced Rose Ferlita on the city council in 2007 when Ferlita resigned to run for Hillsborough County Commission.

Fletcher, 38, grew up in Hammondsport, N.Y., but had extended family in Florida. That was part of the reason he chose to attend college at the Florida Institute of Technology, which had an environmental engineering program that interested him. He was an environmental engineer with the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water in Washington, D.C.

He later graduated from Florida State University's College of Law. Before joining Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick as a partner, he worked for delaParte & Gilbert.

He has experience working with local governments on land-use and utility issues.

Pending city council approval next week, Fletcher will begin working for the city on July 16. His salary will be $150,000.

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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