Pender County Commissioner Jimmy Tate speaks out following allegations he doesn’t live in county

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Pender County Commissioner Jimmy Tate is speaking out against allegations he does not live in the county.

Tate says a lawsuit has been filed claiming he does not maintain a permanent residency in Pender County.

Tate’s statement reads, in part, the allegations “are false and nothing more than a coordinated  smear campaign against me. During the 2022 election, I refuted claims that I didn’t live in Pender County, and addressed these claims with documentation.”

Tate goes on to say he cannot directly comment, since the lawsuit is not an individual lawsuit but a Board of Commissioners matter.

The latest developments were spurred into action after a Hampstead woman, Beth Butler, demanded Tate’s resignation because of the lawsuit at the Pender County Commissioner meeting on January 17th.

“I’m also a concerned citizen and other concerned citizens in the county question Mr. Tate’s residency as we have been doing for the past year,” Butler said. “Mr. Tate was renting a trailer during the election in a trailer park in Surf City. That trailer park has since been sold and is set to be demolished. Several people in District 1 have expressed their concern to me about lack of representation in their district wanting to know: ‘Where does Mr. Tate live, because no one in our district has seen or heard from him since the election!’ So I’m asking you as a board for a direct investigation into Mr. Tate’s residency for transparency.”

In a separate email to WWAY, Tate notes the allegations stem from last year’s Republican Primary election, saying, “primary candidates and their team who lose should accept it and move on.”