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Hillsborough Judge Jared Smith has issued a public apology to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay after he claimed that he had not been contacted by this paper before publishing stories about him.
Last Saturday, Smith—who is running for reelection against Nancy Jacobs in Group 37—took to the airwaves during WTMP 1150-AM’s “What’s Really Happening” show. During his appearance, Judge Smith referenced recent exposés by CL, along with La Gaceta’s articles about his campaign, and said the media didn’t try to get both sides of the story.
"None of the news media, before they published anything, contacted us," Smith said.
In comments captured on a YouTube video, Smith specifically named this reporter, along with La Gaceta Publisher Patrick Manteiga, during the radio segment. Smith claimed I wasn't telling the truth in stories that referenced using email and the phone in making several attempts to reach him. But Smith’s comments on the program were false.
Today, Judge Smith apologized via email:
“I, Jared Smith, take full responsibility for those emails not being reviewed, and I apologize to CL and Justin Garcia for missing those and making the generalized statement that, ‘None of the news media before they published anything contacted us.’ Although...
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