‘What’s their game plan?’
2 Democrats challenge Rick Singh for Orange property appraiser post
Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh is pointing to his experience in the job and the end of a criminal investigation into his office that failed to produce any charges as among the chief reasons voters should grant him a third term against two Democratic opponents.
Singh said his challengers, State Rep. Amy Mercado and and real-estate businessman Khalid Muneer, were banking on him being in handcuffs rather than the appraiser’s office on the 17th floor of the SunTrust Building as the Aug. 18 primary nears.
“Now what’s going to be their game plan?” he asked.
Mercado and Muneer have cited Singh’s questionable behavior as motivation for them to seek the high-paying constitutional office. Both said the decision by prosecutors to close out the investigation without charges for Singh changed little for their respective campaigns.
“Regardless of [the prosecutor’s] announcement/news, it is clear that Singh has engaged in unethical behavior at our property owners’ expense,” Mercado said. “My priority is to restore trust and faith in the OCPA office, and to ensure our property owners’ hard earned tax dollars are used ethically and efficiently.”
Muneer said the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which recommend that Singh be charged with 10 counts of official misconduct, a third-degree felony, and a report released by prosecutors last week about why those charges wouldn’t hold up, call into question Singh’s actions in office.
“There should be no impropri