The Pender County GOP Offical Statement on Commissioner Dr. Jimmy Tate's resignation
Official Statement
On January 17, 2023, during the public comment portion of the Pender County Commissioner’s Meeting, comments were made calling upon Commissioner Jimmy Tate to resign and, among other things, claiming that Dr. Tate was not a resident of Pender County. These allegations are not new and were made during the contentious primary debate between Jimmy Tate and Joe Cina. These allegations continued after the primary was over on social media and in various settings. Dr. Tate has publicly refuted these allegations.
The proper procedure for challenging residency is to file a petition with the Pender County Board of Elections. A hearing is conducted and evidence is taken, examined, and challenged. Following the hearing, the Board of Elections makes a decision on residency. If the Board finds that the individual is not a resident, they will remove that individual from the voter registration rolls which effectively removes a requirement for office. That was not done in this case and there has been no judicial adjudication as to Dr. Tate’s residency. Below is a link containing a news article that provides Dr. Tate’s response to the allegations.
On January 26, 2023, Dr. Tate gave an interview that was televised, in part, on WECT. In this interview Dr. Tate recited a history of harassment from a group of individuals which harassment he says was driven by racism. George Brown, a former County Commissioner, was also interviewed as part of that piece and stated that he believed that there were those who were holding Dr. Tate's race and presumed sexual orientation against Dr. Tate. Our party is firmly opposed to racism and discrimination and to the extent that there are individuals who identify as Republican and who practice those behaviors or holds these beliefs, we disaffirm any such behavior or speech.
On January 27, 2023, Dr Tate formally resigned effective as 6:00 pm.
The Executive Committee will meet to make a recommendation for an individual to take Dr. Tate’s now vacant seat.
We thank Dr. Tate for his service and wish him well in his private endeavors.