CD3 candidate Lee frequently late paying her property taxes, utilities

Susie Lee has repeatedly been late paying property taxes and utility bills over the past dozen years, a Review-Journal investigation has uncovered. Lee’s late property tax payments resulted in more than $1,300 in penalty and interest payments. She also had seven separate liens filed against three Las Vegas properties for unpaid sewer and solid-waste service bills.

Lee is the Democrat candidate in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. She and her husband own 21 properties in five states, according to her latest financial disclosure report and property records from Clark County and Wyoming. Most of the properties are rental homes, including three duplexes in Georgetown, Texas. Starting in 2013, Lee had eight late property tax payments on those properties, according to local tax records. In total, she paid $1,303 in penalty and interest payments.

“Taxes due are January 31,” said Maritza, an employee in the Williamson County tax assessor’s office who declined to give her last name. She had been asked why a property would incur penalty and interest payments. “If they didn’t pay it by that date, they would be assessed penalties for any remaining balance.”

Lee’s late payments aren’t limited to Texas. In 2006, City of Las Vegas Sewer filed a lien against a property owned by Lee. That was the first of seven liens totaling $1,661 filed against Las Vegas-area properties owned by Lee, according to documents obtained from Clark County. This included a $225 lien filed by City of Las Vegas Sewer in 2015 against Lee’s personal home. Zillow estimates that home is worth $2.65 million. Lee’s latest lien came in November 2017, six weeks after she had announced her current run for Congress. The lien was released five months later in April.

Lee’s campaign declined to explain why she was frequently late paying her property taxes and utility bills. It’s unlikely financial difficulties caused the tardiness because Lee’s net worth makes her a millionaire many times over. Maybe she’s just overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork produced by all the homes she owns.

“Susie and her husband have paid every penny owed to the government,” Brandon Cox, a spokesman for Lee, emailed. That appears to be true. Records show Lee did pay off these bills — eventually. One lien lingered unpaid for more a year.

Cox noted that Tarkanian, Lee’s Republican opponent, has also made late property tax payments. The Review-Journal reported on those in 2012. Tarkanian’s financial difficulties have come up numerous times during the current campaign, as voters with a mailbox in CD3 can attest.

Being late on your property tax payments doesn’t disqualify you from public office. But with Democrats and left-leaning special-interest groups repeatedly attacking Tarkanian for his past financial difficulties, it’s worth noting Lee’s problems. Neither candidate has an unblemished financial past.

It also reeks of hypocrisy for Lee to support big government spending — she once called for free universal health care — and then constantly be delinquent paying her own bills. Democrats like to use the word “free,” but massive tax increases are the only way to pay for programs such as Medicare for all.

Lee’s website says she is a “problem solver.” Figuring out how to pay her property taxes and utility bills on time, however, is one problem she’s yet to figure out.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen to him discuss his columns each Monday at 9 a.m. with Kevin Wall on 790 Talk Now. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.

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