Mon
Jan 28 2008
08:08 am
What's the deal with Knox County candidates and property taxes?
By: R. Neal

Yet another candidate with back taxes:

Richard Cate, a candidate for Knox County Commission in the 4th District, owes back taxes and dirty-lot liens on a piece of property on Lilac Avenue, according to county records.

I'm not sure which is worse -- this latest disclosure or his explanation, which brings up a bunch of other negative issues for the candidate.

UPDATE: Cate doesn't own the land, except when it's convenient to own the land to vote in city elections. His explanations are getting hard to keep straight.

Topics:
Ragsdale2010's picture

It's not an oversight, it's a character trait

Submitted by Ragsdale2010 (not verified) on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 9:19am.

in my humble opinion. This is the type of thinking that has to be purged from our local government. Cate will not have paid those taxes by the time the February 5 primary is held and he won't pay them if he doesn't win the primary.

Who is really pushing his candidacy? Of all the appointees from the 1/31 massacre of 07, he's certainly the most vulnerable.

Bbeanster's picture

excuse du jour

Submitted by Bbeanster on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 11:06am.

His excuse is very much like Sam McKenzie's -- "I didn't get a notice, so how was I to know that I had to pay taxes?"

Kind of like when government officials say they were running their own sting operation when they get caught taking bribes.

Perhaps Tamara will devote a couple thousand words to explaining how this most possibly is not exactly what it seems to be?

Anonymously Nine's picture

Perhaps Tamara will devote a

Submitted by Anonymously Nine (not verified) on Tue, 2008/01/29 - 9:29am.

Perhaps Tamara will devote a couple thousand words to explaining how this most possibly is not exactly what it seems to be?

The Maya Angelou of quibble.

gonzone's picture

Leona

Submitted by gonzone on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 9:21am.

Leona Helmsley expressed best:

"Taxes are for little people."

These folks are above having to do such pedestrian things.

edens's picture

Regardless of the politics,

Submitted by edens on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 10:36am.

Regardless of the politics, I found this tidbit interesting:

"The trustee did not sell or liquidate the property because there was no value to it, records show."

Just another day in the inner city.

edens's picture

Say, any idea if cate also

Submitted by edens on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 3:54pm.

Say, any idea if cate also owned the condemned house that most likely once sat on said vacant lot?

Ragsdale2010's picture

Bet he used it to vote on in city elections

Submitted by Ragsdale2010 (not verified) on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 4:26pm.

Me thinks he used it to vote on in the most recent city elections (although he really didn't know he owned though)

I again ask, who is supporting this guy, whose buckets is he being asked to tote and who is putting the money into this campaign, as wobbly as it may be?

Pam Strickland's picture

Yeah, that's what KNS is

Submitted by Pam Strickland on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 5:38pm.

Yeah, that's what KNS is reporting today. He used it as a means of qualifying to vote int eh city election. Something tells me this guy is bad news. You simply can't have it both ways.

pgs

pgs
Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

Tamara Shepherd's picture

Scumbag

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 8:12pm.

Perhaps Tamara will devote a couple thousand words to explaining how this most possibly is not exactly what it seems to be?

Nope. Looks to me like Cate's guilty. Which is not to argue against reading these sorts of stories carefully to glean all the details.

Anonymous's picture

Cate, in Saturday's paper,

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2008/01/29 - 9:12am.

Cate, in Saturday's paper, said there was a "For Sale" sign on the property from the bankruptcy court.

Look at the picture of the property in today's paper -- there's no "For Sale" sign on the dirty lot. Caught in a lie again.

Maybe he meant there's a "For Sale" sign on him.

Bird_dog's picture

Was this just the cheapest lot he could buy to vote in the city?

Submitted by Bird_dog on Tue, 2008/01/29 - 11:45am.

I know the area and it is not likely feasible for any other purpose that Cate might have.

Anonymous's picture

Cate has been toasted. He

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2008/01/29 - 2:30pm.

Cate has been toasted. He went chapter 7 bankrupt and managed to keep that property? I am not sure how that happens. I don't think he had malicious intentions in voting. I could see him thinking "let's see if I can still use this". BUT, regardless, that is not what we need in office.

Bbeanster's picture

Cate not only voted in 2005,

Submitted by Bbeanster on Tue, 2008/01/29 - 2:57pm.

Cate not only voted in 2005, but he "ran" Kim Litton's campaign against Rob Frost (if you can say anybody "ran" that trainwreck). She was a last-minute candidate dredged up by the homebuilders/developers to oppose Frost, probably because he supported stuff like the stormwater ordinance, historic preservation and sector plans.
(Now, I know that's nowhere near as important as which block a downtown liquor store goes on, but some people consider these significant issues.)
Anyhow, I'm not even sure why people who live in the county are allowed to buy up city "voting lots." Seems like a vestige of old-time wardheeling politics that we should have long outgrown.
Back in the day, a group of folks would get together, get up a few bucks and buy a lot at a delinquent tax sale, and then they'd all sign up to vote.

Up Goose Creek's picture

Comparables

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Tue, 2008/01/29 - 10:06pm.

I see from city council that someone bought a lot on Parkview for $3000 through the Homemakers program. So there's a comparable sale, perhaps. Get it on the market already so it can get cleaned up and back on the tax rolls. A vote isn't worth $3000 is it?

____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs

Tamara Shepherd's picture

Wheeler?

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Wed, 2008/01/30 - 2:49am.

What was Tim Wheeler's voting offense a few years back? I was thinking that he did the same thing Cate did, namely use a city address where he didn't actually live to vote, but I know Wheeler got busted for it...

Anybody?

Bbeanster's picture

Tim Wheeler gave Stevens

Submitted by Bbeanster on Wed, 2008/01/30 - 10:55am.

Tim Wheeler gave Stevens Mortuary, and then the Oakwood Lincoln Park community clubhouse as his home addresses at various times. It came to light when he ran against Bob Becker for City Council.

Bird_dog's picture

4001 Lilac is a 50 ft wide corner lot

Submitted by Bird_dog on Wed, 2008/01/30 - 10:52am.

You can't build on it without a setback variance. I know someone who lives close by and she said drug-dealing was rampant in the area. What a sham!

And a shame.

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