NSBNews.net file photo / George Trovato, shown here at a Republican Club luncheon in New Smyrna Beach last year, set a controversial precedent over where a city attorney lives when he was with Deltona before he was fired and ran unsecuccessfully for a seat on the Volusia County Council in November against winner Joie Alexander. The issue of residency may have led to the resignation of current City Attorney Gary Cooney.DELTONA -- With controversy surrounding where his primary residence is, Gary Cooney has tendered his resignation as city attorney, effective June 19. He makes $132,500 annually.
Cooney, a former city attorney in Mount Dora, has a residence in Lake County, in addition to a condo he bought in March 2010, in Deltona after accepting the job here. He sent his resignation in an April 18 e-mail memo to the city, but did not get into the residency issue, which has dogged him in recent weeks with some residents questioning his primary residence, even after officials said they were satisfied he met residency requirements.
Issues of residence plagued the previous city attorney as well. George Trovato used a Deltona residence as an office and residence when he was city attorney in Deltona, but then claimed his primary residence was in Port Otrange when he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Volusia County Council against winner Joie Alexander, representing greater Port Orange and the New Smyrna Beach area.
Mayor John Masiarczyk told the Orlando Sentinel after receiving Cooney's memo that he had explained to him he was leaving to pursue a business venture, but Commissioner Herb Zischkau said politics drove him away.
"This is just another disappointment," Zischkau told the Sentinel. "I had such high hopes that with the election in November, things would be different."
Click the URL here for previous coverage on Cooney's residency issue: http://nsbnews.net/content/405906-deltona-city-commission-ratifies-attorney-s-residence-complying-requirement-city-char
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