I am a retired senior citizen living on a fixed income. I pay my Fulton County property taxes and am not eligible for any exemptions other than my homestead exemption. As a retiree, I have lots of time to do online research especially when I don’t like what I read in the AJC or hear on “The Georgia Gang” on WAGA-TV.
After the story broke in the Atlanta media about Fulton County Commission chairman candidate Keisha Waites not paying her taxes, I did an open records request and some snooping to find out her background. I am alarmed, as you should be as well.
This is what I found:
- Waites’s financial irresponsibility dates back to her college days. She wrote bad checks (now deposit account fraud) and was arrested on a misdemeanor charge. She did not fulfill her community service and had to be arrested again and was given additional community service. This tells me that she didn’t take her financial dalliances seriously — which is evident to this day with her not paying her property taxes. Waites has never told the constituents or the LBGTQ community of her criminal past (not that she has to, as it is a misdemeanor) but it speaks volumes of her character that she has hid this criminal indiscretion.
- She lied to both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV about having a repayment agreement with the Fulton County Tax Commissioner’s Office (a pre-requisite to qualify for public office if you owe back taxes). The open records request proves she lied. My email response from Tax Commissioner Arthur Ferdinand’s office notes she has no such agreement.
- Waites lied on her Declaration of Candidacy by stating that she had a repayment agreement. My next-door neighbor Robert Kelley filed a challenge to her being on the ballot for lying on a notarized government form– but the challenge was denied.
- Waites owes both Fulton County property taxes and city of Atlanta garbage collection fees in an amount in excess of $24,000.
- She has 84 active property tax liens and has not paid on them for months.
How can we let this woman potentially become chairwoman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners? They are dysfunctional as we saw on election night. God spare us all should she beat challenger Robb Pitts in the Dec. 5 runoff election.
Gary Cox is an Atlanta resident who is a retired federal employee.
